True Believers
by LiveInLoveAndLaughter
Summary: **Sequel to History in the Making & This** Follow Fitz, Olivia and the rest of the Gladiators as they take on the White House and Capitol Hill.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 _ **AN: This is the sequel to "History in the Making"**_

 **Chapter One: Brand New Day**

 _It's a brand new day_

 _The sun is shining_

 _It's a brand new day_

 _For the first time in such a long, long time_

 _I know, I'll be okay_

 _\- "Brand New Day" Joshua Radin_

* * *

"Sally," Fitz stood up from his desk in the Oval, "thank you for joining me." He rounded the desk and held out his hand to shake hers. "Olivia, Cyrus and Billy should be joining us any time now." He informed her.

"I'm happy to help our new President set the agenda for the first 100 days." She gave him a firm handshake and sat down on the sofa he motioned to in front of a coffee table.

"Sorry we're late." Olivia pushed the door to the Oval open, "Someone is cranky today." She rolled her eyes at Cyrus.

"Cranky is an understatement." Billy Chambers chuckled in good humor, "But Liv and I handled it."

"Good to hear it." Fitz pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek, "We're just sitting down to set the agenda for the first 100 days."

"Which, I'm told, now includes nominating a Supreme Court Justice." Sally adjusted her seat as everyone settled into their places.

"Yes it does," Olivia and Cyrus shared a look as Fitz answered, "if you'll give me your nomination we'll work to push it through."

Sally smiled warmly at him, "That sounds wonderful."

SCANDAL

"Verna won't like it." Olivia settled in a chair across from Cyrus's desk, "You know she was expecting"

"We never promised her anything." Cyrus reminded her.

"Not explicitly, but"

"I'll handle Verna." Cyrus deadpanned. "Let's just see who her nomination is."

"You know it won't be Verna. It'll be some ultra-conservative judge." Olivia told him with a sigh. "I knew Sally would be a problem."

"We all knew Sally and her Bible thumpers were going to be a problem." Cyrus muttered. "Let's get he name and then we'll handle it from there. And I'll talk to Verna."

SCANDAL

Olivia retreated to the Residence after her sit down with Cyrus. She relieved the nanny (she really wasn't sure how she felt about having someone who wasn't family watching over her kids yet, but the woman was nice enough) and settled herself in a rocking chair in Karen's nursery. She listened to the steady breathing of her daughter and closed her eyes. Eleanor was picking Jer up from school and taking him for ice cream for some special Jer-Nana time. As she continued to rock, Olivia's mind flicked back a few months.

 _October 2008_

" _Liv?" Cyrus poked his head into her office, "Think you can disappear for a few hours?"_

 _Olivia's head shot up, "Um, yeah, sure, why?"_

" _I'll tell you on the way. Grab your coat." He held the door open and she picked up her jacket and slipped into it and grabbed her purse._

" _Let me just tell Fitz we're stepping out for a few minutes." She met him by the front door of the headquarters a few minutes later. "Okay, where are we going?"_

" _We're meeting someone." Cyrus told her._

" _Who?"_

" _Verna Thornton." Cyrus turned the car over and backed it out of the parking lot._

 _SCANDAL_

 _Olivia tapped her fingers against the tabletop of the diner they were waiting for Verna at, "Did she say what she wanted?"_

" _She said she had info on Hollis and Reston." Cyrus informed her as he wrapped his hands around a ceramic mug of coffee._

" _Thanks for meeting me." The older woman's voice came up behind them. She sat down, "I have confirmation of exactly what they're doing. Something to connect them to Defiance."_

" _So that's definitely the town they're using?" Olivia asked, "I'm Olivia Grant, by the way."_

" _Yes, I know who you are, Mrs. Grant." Verna snapped impatiently. "Look," the judge pulled out a file, "this will prove everything."_

" _How did you get it?" Cyrus asked, taking it from Olivia to flip through it himself._

" _When Hollis approached me about supporting the Reston campaign I was curious. He said something about guaranteeing the election, but needing more funds." She shrugged, "I hired someone to look into it."_

" _What do you want?" Olivia asked, snapping the file shut._

" _Excuse me?" Verna cocked her head to the side._

" _For the file. What do you want?" She clarified._

 _Verna smiled at them and leaned across the table, "The first time a seat opens up on the bench, I want it."_

" _A seat on the bench?" Olivia echoed._

" _For Supreme Court Justice." Verna explained._

 _Cyrus leaned back, sliding the file towards him, "Done." He held out his hand and shook Verna's._

 _The woman smiled, nodded and stood, leaving them alone, "Cyrus, you can't just promise"_

" _We need this file." Cyrus told her. "Without it, we don't have enough to ensure a conviction." He sighed and finished off his coffee, "We'll convince Fitz when the time comes. She's a good fit, anyhow."_

" _I just hope that's true." Olivia sighed, "Particularly," she leaned forward, "because you seem to have forgotten about that we promised the first nomination to Sally for taking on the VP slot." She snapped._

" _We'll handle that, as well." Cyrus stood up and tossed some cash on the table and held his hand out for Olivia._

Olivia was drawn out of her thoughts as Karen started crying. Standing up, she reached into the crib and picked up her baby, "Hey, sweet girl, what's all the fuss about? Are you hungry?" She asked as she rocked her little girl. Settling into the rocking chair, Olivia set Karen up to feed her, "Oh, baby, Momma and Uncle Cyrus are in a deep hole right now. Your daddy is not going to be too happy once we tell him what we promised Judge Thornton. Oh boy is life complicated. You don't know that yet, sweet girl. I hope to keep you from that for a while."

SCANDAL

"Hey, Livie," Fitz wandered into the kitchen to find Olivia standing over the stove, "that smells amazing."

Olivia raised her head for a kiss, "I hope you guys don't mind being stuck with my cooking most of the time. I know the White House chef is a far better cook, but"

"You want some normalcy." Fitz finished, "And for the record, I love you cooking." He dipped his finger in the pot and scooped up a little bit of the sauce, grinning when Olivia slapped his hand away, "So, how was your day?"

Olivia cleared her throat, "I have something to tell you."

"That doesn't sound good." He leaned against the countertop, "What happened?"

"It's more about what Cyrus and I did." She sighed.

"What did you do?" He asked.

"Well, in October, we met Verna Thornton." She sighed.

"The judge who told us about Ohio?" Fitz crossed his arms, "What did she want?"

"She gave us the evidence that we really used to nail Reston and Hollis." Olivia explained, stirring the cream sauce and avoiding her husband's eyes.

"Why didn't I know about this?" Fitz asked slowly, "What happened at that meeting?"

"She was promised the first open seat on the Bench." Olivia blurted out.

Fitz processed that information for a moment before finally saying, "You mean the seat we promised Sally months before for her to sign on as VP?"

Olivia nodded, "Yeah, that same one."

"Let me guess, Cyrus agreed to it before anyone had a chance to actually to make a decent decision." He surmised.

Olivia nodded, "Pretty much, but I didn't stop him. And I didn't say anything because I was thinking that it may just disappear. Shows what I know, right?"

Fitz chuckled, "I'll talk to Cyrus tomorrow and we'll handle Sally and Verna. Let's start by seeing how bad the judge is who Sally chooses. I'll handle it, Livie. Thanks for telling me."

"Sounds like a good plan. No more secrets. Promise." Olivia rocked up and pressed a kiss to his lips, "Now out of my kitchen. Go see your kids." She swatted his ass as he walked away.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 _ **AN: Okay, so sorry this took so long. I am going to aim for (at least) once a week updates, though. So everyone feel free to hold me accountable to that! Enjoy! ~ XOXO MAS**  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Uncharted**

 _Just me, in a room sunk down in a house in a town_

 _And I don't breathe_

 _No I never meant to let it get away from me_

 _Now I've too much to hold_

 _Everybody wants to get their hands on gold_

 _And I want uncharted_

 _\- "Uncharted" Sara Bareilles_

* * *

Olivia and Cyrus sat in Cyrus's office, "I can't believe you told Fitz!" He tossed a file on the coffee table, letting it land with a loud thump. It was his own version of a temper tantrum and Olivia rolled her eyes at it. Sometimes Jer was more mature than the Chief of Staff to the President.

"What was I supposed to do, wait for this to blow up in our faces?" Olivia asked, "We need him to help smooth over the ruffled feathers this is going to cause. This is why you can't promise the same thing to two people and"

"Oh, stop lecturing me." Cyrus waved his hand at her, "He's in the Oval and they're in jail and that's exactly how it's supposed to be."

"Except we're going to piss our VP off and Verna Thornton. And they're both strong-willed and vindictive women." Olivia reminded him. "And for the record, I don't like to keep secrets from my husband, so if I were you, I wouldn't ask me to do that." She warned him. "And do not even _consider_ using me as a tool to get something out of Fitz." She paused, "At least not politically. If you want to get out of a dinner at the Residence or want to get hopping drunk, fine, but if you want him to do something that he's not down with politically, you're on your own, buddy."

"Buddy?" Cyrus asked, "Really?"

"I'm tired and I'm hungry. It's the best I got for you." She stood up and brushed off her slacks, "Now, I'm going to meet the team for lunch at Brio. We have some cases to go over. You and Fitz can call if there's an emergency." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're a cantankerous old man. You know that right?"

Cyrus scowled at her, "Yeah, yeah, with high blood pressure to boot." Olivia just chuckled, patting his arm as she left his office, her heels clicking on the tile floor.

SCANDAL

"Okay, what do you have for me?" Olivia asked as she settled into the empty chair at Brio.

Harrison handed her a stack of files, "Plenty."

Grinning, Olivia took a sip of her water and opened the first one. Everyone was silent as she read through the cases in front of her. "This one." She flipped the file around.

The group peered over the file, "Ew, no." Abby shook her head. "Not happening."

"It gotta agree with Abby on this one," Quinn stated, "which is terrifying."

"Why are you even considering this?" Abby asked. Her eyes flitted up to Olivia's. Olivia was staring at Stephen, who at least looked a little ashamed, "Oh, gross, Stephen." Abby whined, "Just nasty."

"What? I was a single man for a long time." Stephen held up his hands.

"So we have to take on Sharon Marquette? Because you couldn't stay away from hookers?" Abby protested.

"Sharon's a nice woman." Olivia murmured.

"Of course you know her." Abby rolled her eyes, "You're the First Lady now, can you really"

"We're taking it." Olivia closed the file and tucked it in her purse, handing Huck the remaining files. "Apologize to everyone else, this is our priority."

Huck nodded, "Will do, Liv. So, what's first?"

"We need to find out if she has a list. That's what Jane will go after first." Olivia pulled out a pad of paper and jotted down some notes. "Stephen, get Sharon into the office tonight. That's when we'll go in."

"Of course." He pulled out his cell phone and shot off a text.

"And what about the optics of the White House?" Abby pestered her.

"Does it need to get out we've taken this case?" Olivia countered.

"Jane Powell is a manipulative bitch." Harrison pointed out, "She'll tell everyone from here to Kalamazoo that the First Lady is protecting a madame."

Olivia seemed to consider this for a moment, "Oh well, we're still taking it." She shrugged.

Abby sighed, "We were never really going to vote on this were we?"

Olivia smiled brightly, "Oh, come on Abs, I thought you liked a good challenge. Don't tell me you've gone soft on me now?" She teased.

Abby glared at her best friend, "Hardly. Bring on the whores."

SCANDAL

Olivia tapped on the door of the Oval. When she heard Fitz's voice vaguely calling out to her, she pushed the door open, "Hey, baby, got a minute?"

Fitz looked up from a briefing. Sitting across from him was a member of the military. "Hey, baby." He smiled absently at her.

"This is a bad time." She leaned against the now closed door, "I'll come back later."

"No, come in, Livie, this is General Holt." He motioned to the man in uniform, "General, this is my wife, Olivia."

Olivia strode across the room, "Nice to meet you, General."

"You as well, Mrs. Grant." He shook her hand firmly.

Rounding the desk, Olivia pressed a kiss to Fitz's temple, "I'll come back later. Lauren must've stepped away from her desk and I didn't think to just check your calendar for myself to see if you were in a meeting."

Fitz stopped reading and looked up, "Everything okay?"

"Mhm," she squeezed his shoulder, "text me when you're free and I'll come back by." Fitz gave her a worried look, but she just smiled. "Nice to meet you, General."

"You as well, ma'am." The general nodded his head as she left.

Fitz watched the door shut with a frown, "Hm, I wonder" he mused for a moment. Shaking his head, he glanced back down at the briefing on East Sudan.

SCANDAL

"I heard a rumor," Cyrus shut Olivia's door in the East Wing, "a rumor that you're taking on the _DC Madame_ case."

Olivia glanced up at the file on Sharon Marquette, "Yes, in fact," she glanced at her watch, "I'll be heading over to the office to meet with her in two hours. Why?"

"Are you insane?" Cyrus asked. "You're taking that case on when we've only just gotten into the White House?" He yelled.

"First of all," Olivia stood up, "don't yell at me." She stepped around her desk, "And second of all, this is not a threat to this administration. Don't you think I would consider that? Don't you think that I'm not worrying about that as well? I would never do anything to hurt Fitz's time in office or his approval ratings. If anything, this is to help him. To help everyone."

"And how do you figure that?" Cyrus snapped.

"Who all do you think is on this list?" Olivia asked casually, leaning back against her desk and crossing her arms, "Who do you think her clientele base is?"

"Politicians, celebrities, oh" Cyrus stopped, "I see."

"This is my way of protecting those men. The men, and maybe even women, who Fitz will be counting on for votes. If this gets out it could torpedo the administration. We may not know some people in the damn cabinet are hooker people." She paused, "This is our way to find out without Jane Powell sinking her teeth into it and destroying everything we've worked for. Look, David is a great Attorney General, but that means we lost any in we may have had in the DA's office. Jane Powell will destroy us faster than we can blink."

"Fine," Cyrus waved her on, "do your gladiating thing. Just keep me informed." He demanded. Olivia rolled here eyes. She would do what she damned well pleased and Cyrus knew that.

SCANDAL

Fitz found Olivia buried underneath a pile of paperwork Huck had dug up on Marquette, "Hey, baby, you looked worried today."

Olivia looked up, her hair falling out of a lopsided ponytail, "Fitz." She looked startled, "What are you doing down here?"

"Looking for my wife. Have you seen her?" He teased, tugging at her hair lightly.

Olivia laughed, "Yeah, she's just buried. That's what I wanted to talk to you about, though."

"Oh?" Fitz took a seat next to her, "New case for OGA?"

Olivia nodded and bit her lip, "Sharon Marquette."

"The Madame case?" Fitz asked with an arched brow, "It's bold." He said after a moment, "And there may be some blow back, but in the end" he nodded, "whatever you need, Livie."

"I need the White House not to comment. Especially until I know who's on the list." She requested.

He nodded and pressed a kiss to her nose, "You got it. In the meantime, I met with Verna."

"Oh?" Olivia asked.

Fitz chuckled, "Let's just say it did not go very well."

"Cy wants to torpedo Sally's nomination." Olivia commented.

"Well," Fitz leaned forward, "I say that we see who Sally nominates and then decide. Personally, I don't want Verna on the bench. And I told her that while she's a great candidate, this was Sally's choice. I pretended to know nothing when she started prattling on about promises."

"What do you think she's going to do?" Olivia asked.

"As far as I know she doesn't have anything on us." Fitz reminded Olivia.

"I'll have Huck double check that little tidbit. In the meantime, Mr. President, you may want to consider your own nomination. We can still wheedle our way around Sally." Olivia offered.

Fitz considered this for a moment, "I may like the sound of that. Let's see what Sally does first, though."

"You got it, _Mr. President._ " Olivia grinned at him.

"There are cameras in this office, Mrs. Grant. Do not tease the caged lion." He motioned to himself. At Olivia's arched brow he let out a roar that had her laughing even as he kissed her goodbye.

She was still laughing when Harrison tapped on her open door, "Ready to head to the office?"

She giggled and nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

"What's so funny?" Harrison asked as he helped her into her coat.

"My husband is just ridiculous." She shook her head, "And he's good with us taking the case."

"Abby is still pissed." Harrison told her, picking up her purse to hand to her.

"Abby can't see the big picture." Olivia muttered.

"Like important politicians will undoubtedly be on this client list?" Harrison quipped.

"Exactly." Olivia nodded in agreement. "Now, let's go meet our madame."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Three: Awakening**

 _Here we are now with the falling sky and the rain, we're awakening_

 _Here we are now with our desperate youth and pain, we're awakening_

 _Maybe it's called ambition, you've been talking in your sleep_

 _About a dream, we're awakening_

 _Last week found me living for nothing but deadlines_

 _With my deadbeat sky, but this town doesn't look the same tonight_

 _These dreams started singing to me out of nowhere_

 _And in all my life I don't know that I ever felt so alive, alive_

 _\- "Awakening" Switchfoot_

* * *

Sharon Marquette accepted the mug of tea from Quinn, "Stevie, you didn't tell me you worked with so many pretty girls." She tutted lightly as she eyed Quinn approvingly.

Stephen chuckled and patted her hand, "I'm married now, Sharon, don't tease me. And Quinn's married too." He reminded her.

"I know I was your wedding." She rolled her eyes, "Still, a man has needs and"

"And Mellie fulfills them all." Stephen promised her, "Trust me. Besides, the woman would shoot my balls off from a hundred yards away. She from the bloody South and demands she shoot her bloody weapons weekly for 'therapy.'"

" _We're in." Huck's voice echoed over the speaker phone._

" _And for the record, Stephen, if you paid for a hooker now that you're married, I'd load the gun for Mellie." Abby screeched. Clearly she'd been listening in on the conversation happening at OGA headquarters._

"We're looking for a list of Sharon's clients." Olivia leaned against the table and spoke clearly into the speaker phone, interrupting Abby and Stephen's argument about the legality and morality behind sex with a hooker before it could really get off the ground.

" _I'm wiping her hard drive now." Huck informed them, his voice had that distant vague quality it took on when he was fully invested in whatever it was he did for them on the computer. Olivia still didn't understand it fully, and it was probably better off that way._

" _You better hurry up." Harrison was standing on the street outside of Sharon's town home on the conference call with them. "The cops are pulling up."_

"Tell them to get photo albums." Sharon replied coolly. "They're important." She primly took a sip of her tea as Quinn continued to stare at her. Olivia smacked her arm lightly to draw her attention away from the madame.

"Huck, Abby," Olivia spoke quickly into the phone, "get the photo albums and get out."

" _You've got maybe two minutes." Harrison warned them as the cars started rolling down the street and closer to him. He stepped behind a tree to hope to avoid detection for a moment longer._

" _I think we've got everything." Abby murmured to Huck._

"You've got the albums?" Sharon confirmed, leaning forward, her voice switching from cool and unconcerned to worried in a heartbeat.

" _We've got the albums." Huck promised._

 _Harrison's eyes connected with Jane Powell's and he turned, "Guys, Jane just saw me. Get out of there." Harrison moved swiftly down the street to where his car was parked._

Olivia ended the call and leaned back, "Jane Powell is about to show up here."

"Meet her at the door?" Stephen asked.

"Meet her at the door." Olivia confirmed, "Stay here, Sharon, we've got ten minutes." She glanced down at her watch as she stalked towards the front door of her office.

Olivia leaned against the back of the sofa in her entryway and glanced down at her watch. It'd been eleven minutes. Jane was never late. "Maybe she's not coming." Stephen murmured.

"Oh, no, she's coming. Text Abby and make sure they stay out of sight with the evidence until we get Jane and her team out of here." She ordered. Stephen hurriedly pulled his phone out of his pocket and shot off the text just as the elevator doors opened and DA Jane Powell stepped out in her gray power suit.

Olivia straightened and put on a sweet smile as the woman threw the door open, "Why is the First Lady of the United States of America defending a the owner of a call girl ring?" Jane asked abruptly.

Olivia wanted to snort, tact and pleasantries had never been Jane's strong suit, "It's nice to see you too, Jane."

Olivia watched Jane's jaw twitch and had to bite back a grin. It was pure fun to ruffle this woman's feathers, "The madame, Olivia, where is she? And where is the list?"

"List? I don't know about any lists." She turned to Stephen, "Have you heard of any lists?"

Stephen shook his head, "We haven't seen any lists here."

"Your people cleared her place out." Jane accused.

"Really? Did you find evidence of them in her apartment?" Olivia asked.

"I saw Harrison on the street." The DA shot back.

"Wait, on the street, which is only two blocks from where he lives and just a few town homes down from his favorite bar, or in her home?" Olivia grinned as she volleyed back and forth with the woman.

Jane's face scrunched up into a very unflattering scowl before she demanded, "The madame is coming downtown with me. Where is Sharon Marquette?"

"Do you have a warrant for her arrest?" Olivia asked.

Jane stared blankly at Olivia, "No."

"Well then, you come back when you have a warrant." She leaned forward, "My white hat is bigger than your white hat."

SCANDAL

" _First Lady Olivia Grant's firm, Olivia Grant and Associates, has taken on the case of supposed DC Madame Sharon Marquette. One of her girls was arrested by an undercover police officer on Sunday night. There has been no official comment from the White House or from OGA regarding Olivia Grant's involvement in such a controversial case. In other news, Supreme Court nominee, Bradley Hargrove's arrest record has come to light, revealing a history of theft. The question remains, will he make it through a Senate vote? Or will the President have to find another candidate for the Bench?"_

Cyrus flicked the TV off, "This is a PR nightmare." He snapped.

"The world isn't coming to an end, Cy," Brenda rolled her eyes, "we can spin this. _I_ can spin this." She assured him.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Cyrus snapped, "The First Lady is defending a madame of all things!" He yelled.

"Enough!" Fitz pushed himself off the edge of his desk, "Don't yell and Brenda and don't yell at my wife." He ordered, "We handle it. It's as simple as that. We're used to handling tough optics. This is no different. We spin it as she's a small time business owner who came to OPA for help. We spin it that Olivia has taken a bit of a step back from OPA, and while she supports her team's choice to take the case, she is not overseeing it. There is no conflict of interest and then once we get our hands on that list we use the power to" Olivia's phone ringing stopped the conversation.

"Sorry." She murmured, "What?"

" _Didn't Fitz plan on running over Sally's nomination for Supreme Court Justice?" Stephen asked._

"Yeah, Cyrus gave it to Ethan yesterday. His juvie record is making news today, just behind the madame case. Why?" Olivia asked.

" _Has Fitz picked his own nominee?" Stephen pressed._

"Why are you asking me questions you already know the answer to?" Olivia snapped. "Just spit it out."

" _Patrick Keating is on the list."_

"Are you sure?" Olivia asked.

" _Liv, I'm staring at his picture on the wall. I'm sure." Stephen confirmed._

"Damn." Olivia hung up. "We have a bigger problem than me defending a madame."

"How could there be a bigger problem than that?" Cyrus screeched.

"Huck decoded the list of Johns." Everyone stared at her, "Patrick Keating is on the list."

The door flew open before anyone could respond. "Which one of you did this?" Sally asked quickly, her cheeks flushed in anger, "This was a juvenile record, it was supposed to be sealed. How did they get it?"

Olivia stood up, "Sally, please, sit down. It's okay, I'm sure we can spin it and"

"And nothing, he'll never make it through the Senate like this. You did it. All of you did it." She accused.

"Now, Madame Vice President," Brenda adjusted her glasses, "we were just in here discussing how we were going to do damage control. We're behind your nominee"

"Don't you dare take me for a fool, young lady." Sally snapped, "You're in this with them, you all played me to get me on the ticket. Well let me tell you, I am now in this for me." She yelled before turning and storming out of the Oval Office.

Fitz crossed his arms, "Well, that was charming." He snorted.

"Very much so," Cyrus rolled his eyes, "we'll get Keating in without so much as a scratch." He promised.

"That's what I like to hear." Fitz grinned.

"Actually, we may have a problem." Olivia waved her phone around, "Keating's on the list."

" _What_?" Echoed from the three people in the room.

"How is that even possible?" Brenda asked, "We did a thorough background check on him. Harrison assured us all that"

"He's on the list. Huck confirmed it. If it's wrong that calls the entire list into question." She rubbed her temple, "I need to get into the office now." She moved to Fitz's desk and buzzed Lauren, "Lauren?"

" _Yes, Mrs. Grant?"_

"Can you have the Secret Service ready with a car for me? I need to go into the office." Olivia asked nicely, "And then I'm picking Jer up from school." She paused, "Can you have Rosa bring Karen down, I'm going to take her with me."

" _Of course, Mrs. Grant."_

Olivia took a breath, "It's going to be okay, I'm going to take care of everything. I promise. We'll protect Keating and we'll keep the list away from Jane Powell. Can one of you get David to my office in a couple of hours? I may need him." She picked up her purse, "Call me if anything changes and I'll do the same. In the meantime, refrain from commenting on the case at all."

"Refrain?" Brenda asked, "Won't that cause"

"A lot of speculation and drama, but less than if we comment and then Keating's name gets out. Let me see what we're walking into first." She asked.

"Of course, Livie." Fitz opened the door as a knock sounded, "And there is my sweetest little girl." He took Karen from Rosa, "Thank you Rosa, enjoy the rest of your day."

The young woman nodded, "Thank you, Mr. President."

Fitz bobbed Karen up and down lightly, "You're going to go to work with Momma today and learn to become a fixer." He cooed at his daughter, "She's going to solve all the world's problems today."

Olivia snorted, "Not all the world's problems, just ours. Oh, and someone may want to talk to Billy, make sure we still have a conduit to Sally should we need it." She paused, "And I don't want it to be me, I still don't trust him."

"I can't believe she didn't fire him after he was under suspicion in your _kidnapping._ " Brenda growled.

"So far he's stayed in his lane. If he steps out, we'll nail him." Fitz promised, handing Karen off to Olivia, "And I'll talk to him. Cyrus may kill him or have a stroke while talking to him. Either way, that's something I'd like to avoid."

"I would, too." Cyrus agreed. "Just let me know if Ethan and I can help at all."

"Come with David in two-three hours to headquarters." Olivia suggested, "We'll fill you in." She pressed a kiss to Fitz's lips, "You deal with whatever disaster is happening in East Sudan. Brenda, you come too." Olivia suggested. "It would do you all a little good to step away from this mess for a while."

"Okay, just call with updates." Fitz ordered lightly.

"You too, love you, sweet baby." Olivia waved as she and Karen left the Oval.

"Liv will handle it." Brenda stated confidently with a smile. "She's the best. And she always does."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 _ **AN: I'm aware there was no update last week. I apologize. I'm terrible! Here's an update now, thought :) ~ XOXO MAS**_

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Dead End Road**

 _Late nights, don't they stretch on forever_

 _You never thought that you would have to ask for help_

 _It's alright, baby, it's just a little static on the line_

 _That time is gonna figure out_

 _You're gonna figure it out_

 _Tell me honestly what you came here for_

 _When you've had enough, but you beg for more_

 _And you talk so tough, but you can't ignore_

 _That you're done driving down a dead end road_

 _Done driving down a dead end road_

" _Dead End Road" Delta Rae_

* * *

Olivia stood as Judge Patrick Keating and his wife entered her office, followed by Billy Chambers. "Billy tells me that we have a problem, and you're the only one who can fix it." The judge said without preamble.

Olivia adjusted Karen on her hip, "Please, Judge Keating, have a seat." She glanced at Jer who was coloring on the sofa, "Jer, why don't you go into the break room. I'm sure Aunt Quinn stashed some ice cream and yummy snacks in there."

Jerry looked up at her, his bright eyes beaming, "Ice cream?" He asked.

"Your favorite, actually," Quinn stood in the doorway, "chunky monkey. Go ahead, let me take Kare from Mommy and I'll make you a bowl." She took Karen from Olivia's grasp gingerly, replacing Olivia's hair from the baby's grasping fingers with her own.

"Thanks, Quinn." Olivia smiled softly before turning back to the Judge and his wife.

"Mrs. Keating," Abby appeared at that moment, "would you like to come with me? We can get you a cup of tea." She suggested.

"No, whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of my wife." Keating snapped, "I have no secrets."

Olivia looked between the two and nodded, "Judge Keating, your name has appeared on my client's list. Apparently in the early 90s you saw a hooker named Stacy multiple times."

Patrick Keating's mouth fell open for a moment before he was able to school himself, "Well, I see we don't have to wait for the media to dig into me. What, is it because I'm too liberal for you?" He spun on Billy, "That I don't support whatever version of Bible thumping brimstone you believe now?"

Billy held up his hands, "Look, we all want to get you in office Judge Keating. The Vice President"

"Wanted Bradley Hargrove in office. The media got ahold of his record though, so you're stuck with me." Keating snapped. "I did not do this and I will not back down." He told Olivia, "Your husband called me to serve my country, and I will sit on that bench."

Olivia sighed and shared a look with Billy, "Very well, Judge Keating, we'll figure out who's behind this and how to sidestep it."

SCANDAL

Olivia stood in front of the board of names, "What does your gut say?" Stephen asked.

"That's he's not a hooker man." She sighed.

"Hey, do you believe the judge will buy that this is a fishing expedition?"

Olivia finally faced Stephen, "Maybe, Zuckerman's old school." She handed him his coat, "Take Harrison," when Harrison appeared in the doorway to the conference room, she smirked, "he's charming."

"Too bad David couldn't stop it." Harrison muttered as he tossed the core to his apple away and moved to grab his own jacket.

"Abby! Quinn!" Olivia called out, "Keep hunting for Stacy." She ordered. "I need to go fill Fitz and Cy in."

SCANDAL

"You couldn't stop it." Olivia sighed, an hour later from her spot on the sofa in David's office.

David handed her a glass of wine and she quirked a brow at her, "You and my wife both prefer wine to hard liquor. I have a few bottles stashed away." He explained.

"You should tell Fitz. He should stash some for me in the Oval." She took a sip and sighed, "You're wonderful."

"So, the list"

"Goes to Jane Powell tomorrow at noon." Olivia groaned, "He's not a hooker man. I know he," she paused, "oh my God."

"What?" David asked, leaning forward.

"I know who Stacy is!" She shot up, her glass of wine and heels forgotten as she dashed towards the Oval, hoping Fitz was available to help brainstorm the best way to handle this. She came to a skidding halt in front of a press room. Mrs. Keating sat watching as Judge Keating and Fitz shook hands and took pictures for a press release. Taking a deep breath, Olivia asked "Stacy?"

Mrs. Keating turned around and let out a deep sigh, "You figured it out."

Olivia took a seat next to her, "You didn't even flinch when you heard he'd slept with a hooker. He doesn't know does he?" Mrs. Keating shook her head, "You moved to Wyoming and his dreams became your dreams and now here you are."

The woman dropped her head, "I needed extra cash, so a friend recommended this job. It was my first night and I was so nervous. I was waiting in the bar and I realized he wasn't coming." Her eyes hardened, "There were no excuses with Sharon Marquette. You came back with your money or you were out. Her girls were classy, we were call girls." She sighed softly, "I was trying to figure out what to do when I realized he wasn't coming and Patrick sat down next to me. He was nice and funny and he realized I'd been stood up. So we started seeing each other." She laughed, "You know we didn't even have sex until our wedding night?" She shook her head, "I paid for all our dates. I told Sharon he was a client. And I told Patrick I was just working the night shift. It's how we paid for law school, it's how we paid for the house, it's how we paid for everything."

Olivia gently laid her hand over the older woman's, "You have to tell him. If he hears it from someone else it will destroy him." She advised softly.

SCANDAL

Two hours later, Olivia was curled up on Fitz's sofa in the Oval, "Do you think they'll get through this?" He asked, tugging her closer to him.

"I don't know. A lie this big?" Olivia sighed, "I'm not sure that even _we_ could manage through that."

Fitz frowned and looked down at her, "I'd like to think that we could manage through anything."

She smiled softly, "True."

"Besides," Fitz took a sip of his scotch, "if two people love each other even half as much as we do, they'll find a way."

"I forgot I was married to a sappy romantic." Olivia teased lightly, sipping her own glass of scotch.

Fitz frowned after a moment, "Livie," she looked up at him questioningly, "what happened to your shoes?"

She glanced down at her bare feet, her dark purple toenails peeking up at her, "Well, shit." She muttered, "I left them in David's office."

"In David's office?" Fitz echoed.

"Yeah, I'd kicked them off when I realized who Stacy was. I guess I left them behind. Oh! That reminds me," she sat up excitedly and he chuckled at her, "David has _wine_ in his office for Abs and me. I think you should have that here. Wine is the most amazing creation ever. And you know how much I love wine and"

Fitz silenced her with a press of his mouth to hers, tangling a hand in her hair and angling her head back, "Wine it is." He murmured.

SCANDAL

The next morning, Olivia perched herself on the edge of the conference room table, her feet dangling off of it as she stared at the pictures of men. "Sometimes," Stephen murmured softly, "one gets away from us." She grunted unhappily in response, "Look on the bright side, though," he paused, "a lot of new clients. There's a lot of powerful people on that board." He motioned to the pictures of various politicians with his coffee mug.

Olivia stood up, "Yeah, there is a lot of power." She grinned, "Harrison!" She called out loudly.

SCANDAL

" _With Patrick Keating's nomination for Supreme Court Judge secure, all he has to do is get through the Senate hearing. It appears that he will slip through without any problems, as many of the Senators who opposed him are now speaking out in support of him."_

Fitz chuckled as he cut off the television, "Lo and behold, the day was saved by Olivia Grant again." He chuckled.

Cyrus leaned back, "She certainly makes my job easier. And there wasn't even a major story on her defending a madame."

"I think her protecting all of those men handled that nicely." Fitz admitted.

"No one can do it like she does." Cyrus agreed.

"Please," the door opened and Jerry sprinted in, landing with a thump on Cyrus's lap, Olivia chuckled as she juggled Karen, "I couldn't do it without you guys. We're a team." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to Fitz's cheek, "And we missed you."

Fitz took Karen from her, "Well then, I think it's time for some family bonding. What do you say, Cy, want to go grab some ice cream with us?"

" _Please,_ Uncle Cy?" Jerry begged.

"Oh, how can I say no to you." Cyrus chuckled, "Let's do it."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Five: Give Us A Little Love**

 _Give us a little love, give us a little love_

 _We never had enough, we never had enough_

 _Give us a little love, give us a little love_

 _We never had enough, we never had enough_

 _We'll pour it in a cup, try to drink it up_

 _Pour it in a well, if we go to hell_

 _We'll get it on the way_

 _\- "Give Us A Little Love" Fallulah_

* * *

"Oh my goodness, Liv, this is amazing. Thank you so much. Your recipe is the best." Abby let out a long moan as she licked her fork clean.

David chuckled, "You're making sex noises again, Abs, you're supposed to save those for me." He reminded her, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"Liv's red velvet cake is basically orgasmic." Abby told him, scooping another piece on her fork, she held out the bite, "Eat."

David nudged her nose with his before he took the bit, "My God, Liv, this is incredible!" He snatched Abby's fork and took another bite, "How come I've never had this before?"

"I've made it before, _you_ just didn't eat it." She poked him in the chest.

"Lauren told me there was red velvet cake in here." Fitz's voice boomed around the break room. "Is that what you were up at the crack of dawn working on? Is that why I couldn't get some lazy, early morning sex?"

Olivia shook her head and rolled her eyes, picking back up the knife to cut Fitz a piece, "Yes, this is what I was doing and you're fine. You can go one morning without sex." She put the slice on a plate and handed it to him along with a fork.

He took a bite, making sure that he smeared some of the cream cheese icing on his lips, "Thank you, sweet baby." He swooped down to press a kiss to her lips.

She laughed through the kiss as the icing was transferred from his lips to hers. "You're ridiculous." She laughed, pulling his head down for another kiss.

Billy sat on a barstool in the kitchen in the West Wing. The room was buzzing with excitement and an intense sugar high from the homemade red velvet cake Olivia had baked for Abby's birthday. He glanced at the plate in front of him and shoved his fork forcefully through the piece before chucking the plate, cake and all, in the garbage can. Scowling at the sound of laughter floating around the room behind him, he pushed the door open and left them to their bantering.

As if they were really a family.

They were nothing more than Olivia Grant's puppets. She was the grandmaster and they all did her bidding. Even the President. Especially the President. It was time to start severing relationships. As he wound his way through the maze of hallways to his office, he considered his options. No one would leave Olivia Grant willingly. They'd either have to be forced out or manipulated. Or Olivia, herself, would have to cut ties. Of course the most important tie to cut would be the one between her and her husband.

He pushed the door to his office open and stretched out on the heavy leather sofa. _Just focus, Billy, no marriage is unbreakable. There has to be some way to separate them._

SCANDAL

 _One Month Later_

Billy smiled widely across the table at Amanda Tanner, "It's so crazy to just run into you like this."

Amanda flushed lightly under his gaze, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear as the bartender set her martini in front of her and a scotch on the rocks in front of Billy, "I know, it's been awhile." She admitted. "How is everyone from the campaign? How's our VP doing?"

Billy turned slightly in his chair, angling his body towards Amanda's, "Everyone's doing well," he hesitated, "the VP is sliding in nicely. Of course Grant is a little liberal for our taste, but what can we do now? We can only wait it out at this point." He paused, "What are you doing now?"

Amanda shrugged, "I'm between things right now." She bit her lip, "Everything will hopefully settle down soon."

A plan started to formulate in Billy's head as he studied Amanda. She was pretty, he supposed. A bit plain, but she had potential. He grinned, "Well, if you're not doing anything now, we can use an extra hand in the West Wing. We're down a researcher. Would you be interested?"

Amanda's eyes lit up and she leaned in, "Really? Do you mean that, Billy?"

Billy's smile shifted, "I really do, Amanda. Come on by Tuesday morning at 8am." When she beamed at him, he rested a hand on her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze, "You know we always take care of our own."

SCANDAL

 _Two Months Later_

Olivia leaned across the Resolute Desk. "Thirty-two people." She told him bluntly.

Fitz grinned back at her, "What about thirty-two people?"

She perched herself on the edge of his desk, "That is how many people have to stay late when you do." She held up a hand, "Lauren, Tom, Hal, that guy with the briefcase attached to his wrist," she began ticking off.

Chuckling, Fitz latched onto her hand, lacing their fingers together and bringing it down, "I promise I only need one more hour at most."

Leaning across the desk again, Olivia whispered, "Good, cause I have a dirty surprise for you waiting upstairs." She latched onto his earlobe and tugged gently before standing. "I'll see you upstairs, husband." She gave him a little wave and giggle as she left the Oval with an extra sway in her hips for his benefit.

"My dirty little fixer." Fitz murmured with a shake of his head as the door clicked shut.

Twenty minutes later, Fitz was just about ready to pack it in for the night, when there was a tap at the door and a blonde head stuck into the room, "Mr. President?"

Fitz glanced up, "Yes, come in." He waved the woman in. It took him about thirty seconds to remember that she was Amanda Tanner. She'd worked on Sally's campaign before they merged campaigns and now she was a research analyst. "What can I help you with Amanda?"

"Scott told me you were going to need these. It's research on East Sudan." She had a folder in her hand.

"Oh, yes, great. Thanks, Amanda." He smiled at her, "How are you settling in? You've been with us, what? Two months? A month and a half?"

Amanda stopped by his side "About two months." She nodded, "How have you settled into the Presidential lifestyle?"

Fitz nodded absently as he opened the file, skimming the briefs as he responded, "It's been a change. Especially for Liv and the kids. Livie's used to having a bit more free reign than she has now. The media is always down her throat. They're on all of us, but you know that." He chuckled, "But we've settled in nicely, I think."

Amanda's head fell to the side, "Still, it must be a strain on your relationship." She took a deliberate step forward, "I mean with her wanting to be able to work and you being in here. You both work long hours and juggle two kids, not to mention keeping up appearances"

Fitz's head shot up at that comment, "Amanda?" He stepped back, suddenly very aware of her proximity. "I'm very happily married. I love my wife. I love my kids. I love my job. I love my wife's job. I'm not sure when you may have gotten the impression that I needed something extra on the side, but I don't." She flushed bright red and he immediately felt a wave of guilt. "Look, we can pretend like this never happened." He closed the file. "Thank you for the file." He picked up his coat and another file, tucking them both under his arm. "We should go, there are thirty-two people stuck here because I'm down here." He moved swiftly to the door and held it open. Amanda bit her lip and ducked her head, leaving without so much as a goodnight. Fitz swiftly dismissed Lauren and the SSA agents before moving up to the Residence.

He made two pitstops. One was in Jerry's room to press a kiss to his forehead and one to Karen's room. He didn't make any move to touch her, knowing the little terror would wake up, but he did watch her sleep peacefully for a few moments, a content smile on her face.

When he finally entered his bedroom, he found Olivia reading on the bed wearing one of his button downs, one button immodestly buttoned. "I like your dirty surprises." He grinned at her.

Olivia looked up, slowly set the book on the nightstand before crawling to the end of the bed. "Well, I happen to know that you find me in your clothes far more arousing than in lingerie."

Fitz dropped his coat and two files on a spare overstuffed chair, "It's a possessive thing, I guess." He ran his hands down her arms, "You are very tempting, Livie." He admitted, one hand coming up to trace the cleavage on display.

Olivia's head fell to the side, and she stilled his hand, "What happened?"

"Hm?" He continued to look her over.

"Something happened. I can sense it. What happened?" Olivia grabbed both of his hands, twining their fingers together.

Fitz sighed, "I was going to tell you about this after our night of dirty fun." He climbed on the bed, kicking off his shoes as he did so, tugging his tiny wife into his chest, "Do you know Amanda Tanner?"

Olivia's brow furrowed, "One of our analysts? She worked for Sally, right?"

Fitz nodded, "She sort of" he shifted uncomfortably, "I mean I didn't, but she" he flushed and Olivia started laughing, "What?"

"Did she come onto you?" He flushed a deeper red and nodded, "She actually thought that would work?"

He shrugged, "I'm not sure it was so much of a plan as a hope." He admitted.

Olivia leaned into his chest, "Well, if she makes another move then she's planning something or someone is pushing her to do this. If not, then maybe she just hoped because you're a Grant man and typically presidents have little bits on the side. You just happen to be abnormal. Which works out splendidly for me, incidentally."

He chuckled and rolled her onto his back, "As if I could ever want another woman when I have you? I've already hit the wife jackpot."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Flattery will get me pregnant again, Mr. President." She warned.

"Oh, pregnant again? That doesn't sound too bad." He ran a hand up her leg. "What do you say, Liv? I know Karen is still so young, but"

"Why the hell not?" Olivia winked, "Come on, Mr. President, knock me up with a presidential baby."

OUAT

XOXO

MAS


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Six: Skipping Stones**

 _Is this just a wicked game_

 _Will it wash with the next rain_

 _Can't give in, I can't give up_

 _I'm trying hard, it's not enough_

 _Throw myself to the unknown_

 _Like a skipping stone, an echo on the water_

 _I'm letting go, surrender to the battle_

 _Another rising tide, another storm to fight_

 _Come and take me, I'm just a skipping stone_

" _Skipping Stones" Claire De Lune_

* * *

"What do you mean he didn't fall for it?" Billy asked, stepping over the stupid dog he'd bought Amanda at the adopt a pet event held on the White House lawn.

Amanda stepped back, instinctively putting space between herself and Billy, "He loves his wife, Billy." She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "There has to be another way that doesn't destroy his marriage."

Billy shook his head, "His marriage is a scam, Amanda." He shouted, "He's a Grant man. He's not going to remain faithful to Olivia. And neither of them deserve to have their hedonistic ways corrupt the White House. They don't deserve to live there. Sally and Daniel Douglas do."

Amanda held up her hands, "Okay, I'm going to let you calm down and I'm going to take TJ for a walk." She moved to the front door and picked up TJ's leash, the big dog immediately following her.

When the door shut softly behind her, Billy picked up a book and threw it against the wall. There had to be another way to separate them.

SCANDAL

"Wait, what happened?" Abby asked, taking of sip of hot tea, curling up on the sofa in the office set aside for Olivia.

Olivia tucked her own feet under herself, cradling her mug of tea against her chest, "She came onto him." Picking up a pillow, Olivia pulled at the tassels, "I just know someone sent her in there. I don't know who though, or why."

"Well, the why would be to break the two of you up." Quinn surmised. She was cocooned in a blanket in an overstuffed chair, a cup of tea resting in her hands.

"But what does that achieve?" Olivia asked.

"Maybe someone thinks it's a way to get to him politically?" Mellie suggested from her own chair.

Olivia chewed on her lip, "Like if we broke up he'd be vulnerable and do something like sleep with Amanda." Her eyes widened, "Something like that could get him impeached."

The group fell silent for a moment, "Impeachment is a big word." Quinn observed. "You don't honestly think"

"Someone from Sally's camp." Abby jumped in. "It has to be."

"Not necessarily," Mellie swirled her tea bag through the water in her mug, "It could be a Democrat." All eyes turned to Mellie, "Maybe someone who was a fan of Reston?"

"That would make sense, too." Olivia closed her eyes, "This is a mess."

"Unless she was just a girl who has a celebrity crush on Fitz and was awed by being in front of him, alone, after hours, in the Oval." Quinn pointed out. "She could've been on her own and you may never hear about this again."

Olivia sighed, "I really hope you're right. The last thing we need is someone toying in our personal lives. Or to have to fight Congress." Taking a sip of her tea, Olivia brightened, "On another note, we're going to try for another baby."

The three women beamed, "Really?" Abby asked, "So soon?"

Olivia shrugged, "We figured, why not?"

SCANDAL

Fitz twisted around Stephen and took a shot, the ball swishing through the net. He had a couple of hours before his next meeting and decided to take a break with the guys. Plus, he really wanted their opinion on what happened with Amanda.

"Okay," Harrison caught the ball, "so what exactly happened? Give us the play-by-play."

Fitz nodded and led the way over to the benches by the basketball court behind the White House, "So, she came in with some research and she waited to see if I needed anything." He opened up his water bottle and took a sip, "She asked how we were settling into White House life. I was honest. She insinuated that I might not be getting enough attention from Livie because our schedules are so hectic and she offered."

Stephen swallowed a large gulp of water, "The woman just offers you sex?"

"So that's the perk of being the president." David teased.

Fitz snorted at that comment, "Anyhow, I told her I wasn't interested."

Huck leaned back, "Do you want me to look into her? See if she's dating anyone or associated with someone she shouldn't be?"

Fitz hesitated, so Stephen jumped in, "That's probably a good idea. I mean what if she's with someone from Reston's campaign?"

"She worked for Langston during the primaries." Fitz pointed out.

"She could've been a plant." Harrison shot back. "I think we should do some digging. Look, we don't have a client at this very moment. Be our client again." He suggested.

Fitz ran a towel over his head, "Fine, but we need to run it by Livie first. I don't want to overstep in her world."

"Deal." Harrison stood, "Another round, boys?"

SCANDAL

Olivia swung by the Oval Office with a sandwich, some grapes and soda in tow. "Is he in, Lauren?"

Lauren glanced up at Olivia, "Yes, ma'am. And he hasn't eaten anything still."

Olivia chuckled, "The forgetful, forgetful man. He's got to take better care of himself. I can't live without him." She pushed the door open without knocking and found a freshly showered Fitz laying on the sofa, pages held above his head and a highlighter stuck between his teeth. "Mr. President?" She called out softly, letting the door shut behind her with a quiet thump.

He shot up at the sound of his wife's voice, "Livie." He beamed at her.

"Lauren mentioned to me that you haven't eaten anything." She held up the two baggies and the can of soda, "I brought you lunch. You should eat." She moved to sit next to him on the sofa, "But first," she grinned and leaned forward, "hi."

He tossed the highlighter and papers on the coffee table, "Hi." He caught the back of her head with his hand, bringing his lips to hers. When he pulled back, he tucked an errant curl behind her ear, "I love you. And thank you."

Olivia tapped his nose lightly, "Love you, too. Now eat something. That's an order from your First Lady." She teased. "I'm going to go get Jer from school. Abby's got Karen, she's in my office going over potential clients with Harrison, Quinn, Huck and Stephen."

As she stood up, he caught her wrist, "Oh, I played ball with the guys this afternoon and I told them about the Amanda incident."

"I told the girls today, too." Olivia admitted, "They had some interesting ideas."

"So did the guys. Huck offered to look into her. I told him that if you were onboard that worked for me."

Olivia nodded, "I hadn't even thought to ask. That's a great idea." She leaned down and pressed one more kiss to his lips, "Give him the all clear." She straightened, "Now, I've got to go grab our son from school. Will you be up for dinner?"

He looked over at her, "Yeah, why don't you invite the whole crew. Then we can fill Cyrus in."

Olivia nodded, "I'll see if Eleanor is busy. She may have an idea or two herself."

"Good thinking. Thanks for lunch!" He watched her sway to the door, "Love you!"

"Love you, too!" She waved before disappearing from view.

SCANDAL

Billy sat on the park bench waiting. "You have to make this quick."

He looked over at the man he was meeting, "Do you think this will work?"

The man nodded, "If you think she'd take the case, then yes, I'm sure I can divide them on it."

Billy thought for a moment, "We have a deal." He pulled a flash drive out of his pocket, "This should be everything you need. The money will be wired to your account once the job's done."

"Half now, half then or no deal."

Billy scowled, "Fine."

"Here's my account information." He man held out a piece of paper before standing. "It was nice doing business with you."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Seven: I Knew You Were Trouble**

 _Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago_

 _I was in your sights, you got me alone_

 _You found me, you found me, you found me_

 _I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that_

 _And when I fell hard, you took a step back_

 _Without me, without me, without me_

 _And he's long gone when he's next to me_

 _And I realize the blame is on me_

 _Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in_

" _I Knew You Were Trouble" Taylor Swift_

Olivia fumbled with her keys as she tried to wrench them free from her bag and juggle Karen in her arms. They were late. Jer would be stuck at school because she got distracted. This Amanda business just didn't make any sense to her and it was frustrating as hell. "There we go." She murmured when the keys were finally free of her bag, "Now, Kare Bear, we can go get Jer. Maybe we should treat him to ice cream since Mommy is running late." She cooed to her daughter. "Or maybe Mommy just wants ice cream and is using Jer as an excuse. That's really it. Mommy wants some really unhealthy ice cream, not any of that frozen yogurt business." She opened the back seat and began to strap Karen in. "One day, you'll love ice cream, too. Just wait until you can eat all the big people food in the world." She paused, "Oh, heavens no, I think I'm going to freeze you like this. You're too cute this way." Karen let out a squeal and reached her hand out. Catching it, Olivia playfully nibbled on her fingers, "You really are Mommy's little girl." She murmured, pressing a kiss to her daughter's hand before shutting the door and climbing in the front seat. "Now, off to get Jer."

"Don't be afraid." A voice sounded behind her.

Olivia jumped a foot in the air, letting out a little screech. The one time she convinced the SSAs to let her drive to school while they followed in a dark sedan that was parked two spots over someone would break into her car and be waiting for her. Fitz was going to kill them all. Taking a deep breath, she eyed Karen in the rearview mirror. "I suggest you get out of my car. There are Secret Service Agents in the car next to us."

"They're sleeping." The man answered nervously, "I just, I couldn't chance it that they wouldn't let me talk to you."

Olivia's eyes widened. She was officially never going anywhere without Hal again. Swallowing back the lump, she threatened. "You need to get out of my car. I have a gun, and daughter present or not, I will use it on you."

The man held up his hands, "Okay, okay, I'll get out, but first you need to know that this is about Thorngate. My name is Archie Hornbacher and I work for the NSA and Thorngate is a program the government uses to spy on its citizens." He opened the trunk of her SUV and stepped out.

Leaving her car door open, Olivia slid her small revolver out of her purse and stepped out. Keeping it trained on the man, she asked, "What is Thorngate?"

He held his hands up. "It's a program that's used to tap into satellites. We can listen in on conversations and see people and it's everywhere. And the government isn't using it against terrorists. Big Brother is watching _us_."

Olivia swallowed and looked around, "What do you want from me?"

"Protection." He begged. "I stole Thorngate and my boss knows."

Olivia thought for a full minute. Making up her mind, she gave him instructions. "Run." She stated flatly, "There are cameras in this garage. Run. Go to 116 Hypolita Street. There will be a man waiting for you there." Archie didn't move. " _Now_." She ordered.

When he took off, Olivia slumped against her car digging for her phone. First she shot off a text with instructions to Huck, then she dashed over to the SSAs car, looking inside, they all looked dead. She dialed Fitz.

SCANDAL

Fitz threw his phone across the living room, "No one can find him." He paced, "And he didn't give a name?"

"Fitz, just calm down." Olivia was wrapped up on the sofa in the living room of the Residence. "I'm okay, Karen's okay, Jer's okay, the agents are okay. We're all okay."

Sighing and tugging his hand through his curls, Fitz sat next to her, pulling her into his chest, "If he'd hurt you or Karen"

"He wasn't a threat, Fitz, he just wanted my help. He was more scared than I was. Promise. And like you saw on the video, he took off. I talked him down. We're fine. We're all fine." Olivia assured him.

"If he shows up again," Fitz murmured.

"I'll tell you, but if he is in trouble and needs my help," she sighed, "I help people, Fitz."

He let out a grunt, "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

She let out a small laugh, "I love you, just trust me on this, you know I would never put myself or our kids in immediate danger."

"I know, I just worry. I hate the thought that it could be me putting you all in danger." Fitz murmured.

"Hey, look at me," she tipped his chin up, "no one's in danger. Alright? You just keep doing your job and you keep doing it well. We can make it through anything, right?"

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple, drawing her even closer to him, "Through anything." He agreed.

SCANDAL

"I just can't believe Fitz is okay with this." Abby admitted as they settled behind the computer to start the video chat. Huck and Harrison were with Archie in a safe house. Abby, Stephen, Quinn and Olivia were at the office, securely guarded by lots of SSAs.

"He doesn't know." Olivia turned on the monitor.

Quinn's brows drew together, "What do you mean 'he doesn't know?'"

"I mean, that there's a 90% chance that this guy is full of hot air and we'll never see him again after today. No harm, no foul. But if he happens to fall in that 10%, I'll tell Fitz what we're working on."

"And how will you explain it, exactly?" Abby asked archly.

"I'll just say that Archie got in touch with me again. Not a lie." Olivia held up her hand, "So I stashed him at a safe house." Before Abby could protest, she cut in, "Also not a lie."

"I guess, it's just, you and Fitz don't usually go behind each other's backs." Abby pointed out.

"I know, but we also stay out of each other's work unless directly asked. Consider this me taking on a job and just not mentioning it until we're underway." She glanced up, "Now, where is Stephen?"

"I'm right here." He came in cradling four mugs. "I brought tea." He started handing them out before pulling up a chair himself.

SCANDAL

Olivia paced outside the Oval Office for a good ten minutes, steadfastly ignoring Lauren, Hal and Tom. She was trying to work up the nerve to tell him about Archie. She needed to help him. His friend had already been killed. She needed to protect him, but Abby was right. She kept this from Fitz. She'd lied to Fitz. And they just didn't do that. Then again, Thorngate was real and he kept that from her. Was that the same thing, though? They didn't share work. It was better to keep their spheres separate. They learned that early on when she would tromp over his cases when he was with the DA. She chewed on her lip and stood directly in front of the doors. Summoning all her courage, she knocked.

Once she was inside, Lauren looked over at Tom and Hal, "That's not good." She murmured.

Both men moved to lean against her desk. "I think it has something to do with the guy who drugged us." Hal admitted.

"The President won't like that." Tom crossed his arms, "She's working on whatever his case is, isn't she?"

Hal shrugged, "She forced us to stay in the lobby and kitchen areas today." Hal explained. "She said her work was high priority and confidential. She didn't want it leaked anywhere. She even had Huck run another bug sweep this morning when they got in."

"Who is the guy?" Tom asked.

"Never got an ID. He kept away from the cameras enough that we couldn't get a solid picture of him." Hal sighed.

Lauren glanced at the door. "I think we're about to hear our first fight out of those two and it makes me really nervous."

Inside the Oval, Olivia kept ten feet between her and Fitz, "Livie, you're scaring me." Fitz admitted.

She bit her bottom lip nervously before finally asking, "Do you remember when we were first dating, how work got between us a time or two?"

Fitz nodded slowly, "Yes, is work about to get between us again?"

She turned her head and closed her eyes, "What's 'Thorngate?'" She asked.

"Where did you hear that word?" He snapped.

"I asked you a question, Fitz." She kept her voice steady.

He crossed his arms, "That's confidential. You don't have the clearance to know about it."

She nodded her head, "The guy who was in the garage is named Archie Hornbacher. He's in trouble."

"Trouble how?" Fitz asked slowly.

She blinked. She'd expected him to just yell. He wasn't yelling. This was good. "Someone is out to get him. I've taken on his case." She held up her hand before he could protest, "I'm not seeing him. He's at a safe house. Everything I'm doing is via a secure line through video chat. Huck is on him. I'm safe." She promised.

Fitz scrubbed his hand over his face. "You need to stay away from Thorngate, Olivia. As long as you do that, you can help get him to a safe place." He agreed.

"What is Thorngate, Fitz?" She asked, "Why is the government spying on citizens?"

"Olivia," his voice dropped to that low level, "drop it."

SCANDAL

"It's unconstitutional." Olivia surmised. "It has to be or Fitz would've told me about it." She paced her office, while Abby and Quinn watched her. "God, this is such a mess. Is Huck almost done decoding the program? Maybe he's just crazy. Maybe I should just let him go. God, but if I do that, he could destroy Fitz's administration. If he leaks this" she shook her head, "but we can't bury this either." She tugged on her hair, "There is no right answer, is there?"

Abby shook her head, "Liv, I don't think there is." She admitted.

SCANDAL

"Huck, it's almost midnight." Quinn murmured, "It's time to go home."

He shook his head and took another sip of his soda, "I'm almost done." He murmured. "I'm almost there and once I get there then I can" he stopped. "What?"

Quinn pulled up a chair, "What are we looking at?" She asked.

He pointed, "This didn't come from a NSA computer." He muttered. "This came from somewhere else."

Quinn picked up her laptop, "Give me the IP address." She typed as he rattled off the number. Her fingers flew over the keys with a practiced ease. Two minutes later, she turned the computer to face him.

 _Billy Chambers._

SCANDAL

"Billy Chambers?" Fitz asked. "Are you serious?"

There were no cameras in the Residence, so they were spread out on their bedroom floor. "Yeah, and that's not all. Huck was able to trace a connection between Chambers and Amanda Tanner. Fitz, he sent her in there to seduce you." Olivia shook her head. "This is so bad. And what is their endgame anyhow?"

Fitz stared at a picture of Amanda and a picture of Chambers, "To get Sally into the Oval." He murmured, "He's trying to tank my administration and breaking us up has to happen. If we don't separate, he doesn't stand a chance. You'll do anything and everything to fix whatever needs to be fixed and"

"And if I'm gone and you screw up, then Sally may be able to walk straight into the Oval." She shook her head, "It's genius. Fucked up, but genius." She moved herself into his lap, "At least we caught it before we walked all over each other." She admitted. "Now we can show this to Sally and"

"Or we can use this opportunity." Fitz interrupted. At her quirked brow, he continued, "Let's let him think he won. Let's give him a show down. Let's trap the bastard." He motioned to the papers, "All of this could potentially get thrown out. A lot of it is circumstantial. Let's get a confession out of him."

Olivia sent him a feral grin, "Let's do it."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Eight: Everything is Lost**

 _There are angels and demons at war inside my chest_

 _The good and the evil are fighting to possess_

 _And I can't stand up as the ground shakes underneath_

 _And I can't stand up as the earth gives under me_

 _Everything is lost_

 _And this nightmare's closing in_

 _Everything is lost_

 _There's a sorrow beneath my skin_

 _This is the end of me_

 _This is the end of me_

 _\- "Everything is Lost" Maggie Eckford_

* * *

Olivia steadied herself and nodded at Fitz who pressed one more quick kiss to her lips, whispering an 'I love you,' before throwing open her office door. "I said no, Olivia. And like it or not I am the President. I am the Commander in Chief. When I say back down, you back down."

Olivia stormed into the hallway behind him, "Stop walking!" She ordered. Fitz just kept moving. "Damn it, I said stop walking away from me. Right now." He stopped in front of the break room where Billy was standing with a few other aides, the perfect place for a show. "Don't you dare play that card with me Fitzgerald." She took a breath. "You do not get to stomp all over my work like it doesn't matter. Particularly, something this big and this questionable."

"So it's only okay for _you_ to stomp on _my_ work?" He spun, "Like when I was with the DA's office and you would _purposefully_ make my job harder to save your client. You really think you can do that now? I'm the President. I'm the most powerful man in the world. I'm the leader of the free world and you, the First Lady, you think you have any sort of pull or power, but your role is _ornamental_."

"My role as First Lady may be ornamental, but that doesn't mean I don't have a brain. And I still have my firm. I built that place from the ground up. It's my sweat and tears and blood and my name on the door. And I don't back down to _anyone_. I stood up to Russian mobsters and you think _you_ scare me?"

He took a threatening step forward, "If you expect our marriage to last my time in the White House, then I suggest you think long and hard about what you're next move will be, Olivia, because I will not have you put America at risk or ruin my administration over some mole you've decided to trust over your own husband." Olivia let him walk away after that, aware that too much of a show may raise just as many questions as not enough of one. Billy knew they were fighting, and he knew what they were fighting over even if they never directly identified Thorngate or Hornbacher by name.

SCANDAL

"David said it was huge, like epically huge." Abby murmured, holding tightly to her mug of tea, "Like a full on screaming match in a hallway of the West Wing."

"Over Hornbacher?" Harrison shook his head, "The guys not worth it. He's probably all hot air anyhow."

"Has Huck decoded the program yet?" Stephen asked, leaning against one of the conference room chairs.

Abby shrugged, "No idea. I haven't talked to him or Quinn. Neither of them have been answering their phones." She looked around, "And to be honest I"

"Hey everyone." Olivia appeared in the doorway holding Karen, Huck and Quinn by her side. "We've got work to do." Abby, Stephen and Harrison just stared at her. "Oh, David heard the fight and called Abby." She nodded, "Don't worry about it, we're not really fighting." She nodded to Huck, "Can you pull everything up on the monitor. I've got to feed Karen. She's about to start wailing," Karen let out a cry on cue, "now." She settled into a chair, dropping her bag to the floor and setting Karen up to nurse, "Go ahead, Huck."

Huck and Quinn simultaneously started working on bringing up the information onto the two televisions in the conference room, "Billy paid Hornbacher to bring us Thorngate. He even gave him the info on the program. There's no telling if this is even what Thorngate is about." He admitted.

"Wait, so what about the fight?" Harrison asked.

Olivia adjusted Karen slightly, "Fitz and I were going through the info Huck gave me yesterday and he and I both agree that a lot of the information we have on Chambers is circumstantial at best. We're trying to draw him out, force his hand and get a confession."

Abby stared at her, "So you and Fitz are not fighting?"

Olivia scoffed, "About this? No, we're not that easily brought down. We just want Chambers to think there's a chink in the armor, that he's gotten to us. His goal is to get Fitz out of office. If this didn't get him falsely impeached, at least I would be out of the way. Then he'd probably send Amanda Tanner in again and hope that he would fall for her." She sighed, "He really is a stupid little man."

"Okay, then, what's next?" Harrison asked.

Olivia readjusted Karen slightly, "Huck, go back and check on Hornbacher. Make sure he's still in one piece and that he hasn't bolted or stolen anything he shouldn't." She directed. "We're not delving into whatever Thorngate is. Fitz told us to back off, so we back off." She paused, "Quinn, Abby, tail Chambers. See where he leads us to."

"What about us?" Harrison and Stephen asked.

Olivia leaned back, "I'm not sure yet, to be honest. It's going to depend on what Huck, Quinn and Abby turn up." She told them.

"I'll drive." Abby grinned, picking up her bag. "He's at the White House, right?"

Huck held up his hand, "One second, no, wait, he's on the Hill. It looks like Sally's there too, so be careful." He warned them, his eyes on Quinn.

Quinn leaned down, "We'll be safe." She murmured, moving her lips up to her ears, she grinned, "All three of us." He just beamed at her.

Olivia eyed Quinn and Huck, a knowing smirk on her face. "Text me when you're at the safe house and keep me in the loop on what Hornbacher's up to."

Huck nodded and left, and Harrison spun his chair towards Olivia, "So what? We just hang out here until someone texts with a problem?"

"Pretty much." Olivia agreed. After a moment, she paused, "Actually, I take that back." The grin that curled at the corners of her lips was nearly feral.

"I do not like that look." Stephen narrowed his eyes.

"Neither do I." Harrison agreed. "I'm afraid to ask, but what are you taking back?"

She chuckled, "How do you feel about B&E?" She asked.

"B&E?" Stephen echoed uncertainly.

"Breaking and Entering." Olivia clarified.

SCANDAL

Harrison fiddled with his iPad, linking it to the security camera just as Huck told him to do over the phone on the way to Chambers's apartment. "Can I just say what a terrible idea this is?" Stephen asked.

Harrison rolled his eyes, "You've been saying that over and over for the entire fifteen minute drive here." He tapped on the screen a few more times, "And we have the cameras now."

Stephen gave him a fake smile, "Congratulations, we need to stop now. This is a crime."

"Haven't you ever broken the law before?" Harrison asked glibly.

"God, I'm going to prison." He rubbed his temples, "And I haven't even been with Mellie nearly as long as I wanted."

Harrison grimaced, "That's just nasty." He led them up the steps to Chambers's door. "And here we are."

"This is such a bad idea." Stephen muttered again as Harrison squatted on the floor in front of Billy Chambers's front door. "She's the bloody First Lady of the United States of America and I'm a bloody attorney and"

"Stop being such a wuss and just make sure no one comes." Harrison grunted, "Damn, I'm out of practice." He muttered.

"Why the bloody hell were you in the practice of picking locks? You were an attorney, too. You shouldn't be picking anything." Stephen ranted. "If I get arrested, Mellie will kill me. And you really suck at this by the way. If she was going to send me with a thief, she could've at least picked a half decent one."

"Wow," Harrison stood up and pushed the door open, "I had no idea you were this big of an ass. Now come on, you've got your gloves on, right?"

Stephen scowled, "Of course I've got my gloves on, what do you think I'm that much of an idiot?"

"Actually, yes, I do." Harrison quipped, "Now, come on, let's see what Billy Boy is hiding in his cave."

SCANDAL

" _He left Sally in the Hill parking lot." Abby told Olivia. "He's met Amanda at a restaurant. We managed to snag a table within hearing distance. They're going to push to get between the two of you and then she's going back in. I'm telling you, Liv, he did a number on this one. She's totally brainwashed by him. Totally brainwashed to think Sally is God and that if she does this she will be saved. Oh, she's also completely in love with him."_

Olivia scrunched up her face, "That's disgusting." She sighed, "The things people will do. Did you"

" _We got the recording." Abby confirmed. "How'd the boys do?"_

Olivia was grinning as she bounced a recently awake Karen on her lap, spinning in her chair, "Oh, the boys found the computer with the fake Thorngate program on it. The idiot hadn't even cleared his hard drive. They could do it without Huck."

" _Wait, Liv, did we" Abby started to ask._

"It's not over yet." Olivia reminded them. "I want Billy to plant Amanda in the Oval. I want them both to be in trouble for trying to take down an Administration. I don't want them to have a chance to get anywhere near 1600 Penn or anywhere outside of a prison in DC ever again."

" _Well then, I guess it's time to spread the world that you are not sleeping in the Residence tonight." Abby surmised._

"Go tell David and Cyrus that I'll be staying at the Blair House tonight." Olivia agreed, "And make sure Fitz works late. Hal is going to get Jer from school and taking him to Eleanor's, he's also going to take my little munchkin so they're out of the way for this."

" _Sounds good. Quinn and I are on our way to 1600 Penn now."_

Abby hung up, so Olivia did to, standing up and walking out, "Hal?"

Hal appeared at that moment. "Now, you make sure my little bears are all taken care of?"

Hal's face softened, "You know I will Mrs. Gra"

"Uh uh." Olivia tsked him lightly.

Hal shook his head, "It's against protocol, ma'am."

She sighed, "One of these days, I will break you."

He gave her a small grin, "Come on Miss Karen, we're going for a car ride to get your bother and spend the night with your grandma."

Olivia shook her head at the bear of a man cooed to her baby girl. Picking up her cell phone she quickly dialed Fitz's number, filling him in on what was more than likely to come tonight.

" _I promise to be pretend drunk in the Oval. Then I'll meet you at the office."_

She chuckled, "Now, prepare for my phone call that sends the West Wing spinning." She sing-songed before hanging up.

SCANDAL

Fitz paced around the Oval, a glass of scotch in his hand. The West Wing was already buzzing. Cyrus had thrown a fit in the middle of the hallway when he'd heard the news. He declared that First Ladies did not throw tantrums and run to the Blair House to hide from the husbands during a spat. He'd ordered Olivia to get back here. Fitz had $50 that she'd just laughed at him and hung up after enough time had passed that it seemed like she'd given him a legitimate response.

According to David, Billy looked like a kid in the candy store, pretending to be concerned for the First Couple when everyone was looking, but grinning when he thought people weren't looking.

That was when the door to his office opened and the slip of a blonde girl appeared, "Mr. President?"

He turned, slowly, "Ms. Tanner." He forced the slur, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She approached him slowly, "I understand that Mrs. Grant has left you." Fitz didn't respond. "Is there something I can do to help you?"

"What did you have in mind?" He asked. The moment her hand touched his chest, he set the scotch down and grabbed her wrist, "Who put you up to this, Amanda?"

"What?" She stuttered out.

He straightened, "I asked you, who sent you into my office to try to seduce me? Or do you think I'd actually stray from my wife who I love even if we had a disagreement."

Her eyes were wide, "Wait, even if?"

"We're not fighting, but we do want you to tell us what's going on." Fitz told her, "So who did this?"

Amanda stepped back, "You don't deserve to be President." She yelled, "You're a bad seed, you're like a bad weed. We know that Sally should be President, not you!" She screeched at him.

Fitz blocked her door, "Who is 'we'?" He asked patiently. Amanda glared at him and didn't respond, "My son is mature enough not to give the silent treatment when he's mad. Now, Amanda, who?"

She rolled her eyes to the back of her head, "Billy." She finally relented. He nodded, "That's what we thought." He crossed his arms, "Now, tell me, Amanda, just how much do you know?" He waited while she sifted through his words. He was good at waiting. It's what made him such a good DA. He was an excellent interrogator. Within the minute she was telling him everything she knew. The one thing she didn't know about was Hornbacher and Thorngate.

He let her go, knowing that SSAs would be watching to make sure she didn't try to flee town.

SCANDAL

Billy hung up the phone. He threw it against the wall. Amanda told him what happened. Everything was crumbling around them. He was standing on his last leg. He had to get out of town before Sally found out. This was it. He'd lost.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Nine: Cold Day in Heaven**

 _Keep thinking about when we started, so innocent_

 _Your heart was a mess and I was lost in it_

 _Keep thinking about the day that we met, and you've changed_

 _You loved me once, and now you bring me pain_

 _Keep thinking that I will say goodbye_

 _Made a promise that you won't see me cry again_

 _It's a cold day in hell, a cold day in heaven_

 _We watched the stars fell and oh you know we let them_

 _We said it'll never happen, we said it'll never happen to us_

 _But it's a cold day in heaven my love_

 _The sky's dark and the flowers are frozen, the world is hushed_

 _Our guardian angels have turned their backs on us_

 _Something's broken, I thought I could fix it, but it's broken me_

 _Your kisses are poison and all your words are treason_

 _I'm walking away, you won't hear me say I love you_

" _Cold Day in Heaven" Delta Rae_

* * *

Cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder, Huck leaned over and placed the piece of duck tape over Hornbacher's mouth so if he woke up he couldn't disturb them. "Billy called and told Hornbacher what happened." Huck informed Olivia.

" _Did he get away?" Olivia asked quickly._

Huck shook his head and nudged the man, "No, he's uh, sleeping." He lied. He wasn't sleeping so much as forced into unconsciousness from a very strong sedative Quinn had slipped into his water.

 _There was silence on the other end of the phone, "Huck, did you kill him?" She asked slowly._

After she'd asked her question (a completely justifiable question, honestly), Huck realized he should rerun his scan over their phones to make sure Billy hadn't somehow secured a tap on them. "No, Quinn wouldn't let me. He's just taking a nap. What should we do with him?" Huck had quite a few good ideas for what to do with him.

 _Olivia sighed, "Thank God for Quinn." She muttered, "Tom's on his way with a team, just hand him over to the SSAs. We have more important things to handle right now."_

"What happened?" Huck asked quickly. He straightened and moved to where his car keys were, ready to jump into action if Olivia needed him. Quinn noted his sudden movements and stood as well. Hornbacher wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

" _Just get to my office once you hand him over to Tom. In the West Wing." She clarified. "Billy ran."_

Huck pocketed his phone and looked up at Quinn, "Billy ran. Something happened, but Liv didn't say."

Quinn ran a hand over stomach, "When will they be here to get this scum?" She lightly kicked Billy with the toe of her boot.

"She said Tom's on his way. How do you feel?" He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

She shrugged, "A little nauseous. It should pass soon."

He glanced down at her still flat belly lovingly, "Sorry?" He apologized questioningly.

She rolled her eyes, "No, you're not. And it's okay. I'm not either." She stepped back, "Come one, let's get ready to bolt the minute Tom is here."

SCANDAL

"One question at a time, please." Abby sighed as she tried to maintain control over the sea of reporters. It was only a small skirmish in the Middle East. This was something they should be used to, but they never failed to chase after a story until it was beyond dead. Some even attempted to bring it back to life as a zombie.

It happened so quickly, she wasn't sure what to do. Billy shoved her aside, "I'm sorry, Abby, but I'm about to make your day a lot worse."

Abby glowered, "Move, Billy." She pressed her hands on his arm and attempted to push him away.

"My name is Billy Chambers and I am the former Chief of Staff to Vice President Langston." He introduced himself.

Mellie's face dropped, "Former? Billy, what's going on?"

He turned to her, "If you will just hold on one second, Abby, I have an announcement to make."

Her eyes narrowed, "Like hell you do." She muttered, turning back stage and snagging the first to SSAs she could find, "Get him off my stage now. He's going to try to take down President Grant."

"This morning I discovered that a White House aide, with whom I was having a relationship with, was seduced by" Hal's hand closed around his arm, "excuse me, I'm not finished here."

"Yes, you are." Hal didn't hesitate or wait for the other agent. He all but picked Billy up and moved him backstage.

Slightly flustered, Abby took the podium again, "I want to apologize." She glanced down at the podium, "At this time I cannot speak on the issue of Mr. Chambers, however I will take questions on the Middle East."

SCANDAL

"That explanation is not working for me, Sally." Fitz accused.

Sally let out an indignant huff. She'd been sold a bill of goods that amounted to nothing when it came to the Grant family in the White House. "Look, Mr. President, Billy just handed this to me and then left. Now, I don't see any reason why he would lie about such a thing and everyone saw you and the First Lady's indecent spat in front of the break room yesterday." She pointed out.

"Because a spat automatically means we cheat on each other?" Olivia pushed the door to the Oval open. Cyrus, David, Abby, Stephen, Harrison, Huck and Quinn were at her heels. "We have proof that Billy stole a government program used to hunt terrorists and gave it to a low-level NSA employee. We have proof that Billy ordered Amanda to try to seduce the President. We also have proof of many other crimes he's chosen to commit. One of which involved my kidnapping." She circled the room until she was standing in front of the Vice President. "Now, you can go down with Billy or you can stay with us. Which will it be, Madam Vice President?"

SCANDAL

Sally had never stood behind the press podium before this very moment. And she was none too happy about it. "After an investigation into Mr. Chambers's claims that a White House aide had an inappropriate relationship with someone on the staff, we have come to find out those rumors are false. Mr. Chambers was in a relationship with an aide. He and the aide, who has now been relieved of her duties, formed a plan to try to thwart this administration. The allegations Mr. Chambers tried to bring forth are false and he is no longer a member of our administration. I will now be taking questions."

SCANDAL

 _A list of names of the men White House aide Amanda Tanner could have been having a relationship with was released. Among the most notable names are White House Reporter Carl Horner, Surgeon General Mike Howard, and the President's Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene. The men have all denied having a relationship with Ms. Tanner and so far there has been no proof to these allegations. Ms. Tanner has refused to comment, but sources say she was questioned by authorities for her involvement with some of Chambers's discretions, including stealing a program from the NSA. More details to follow at 11._

SCANDAL

"That was almost an unmitigated disaster." Cyrus held out his tumbler of bourbon, "And it may not just disappear."

Olivia shook her head, "It will, Cy, did you see the list of people it was speculated that she had an affair with? Fitz didn't even make the list." She straightened when Fitz reentered the living room with a bottle of wine and glasses for the girls.

Mellie nodded from her seat on the Residence living room floor. "It's true, everyone knows that you two are hopelessly in love. No one thought for a moment that Fitz cheated on you."

Cyrus sighed, "I suppose so. You know I was on the list." He shook his head, "What will we do with those lions?"

"Feed them to a bigger lion." Huck suggested.

David shook his head, "I don't think we have to worry about Chambers anymore. It's very cold and dark where he's going. And I have a feeling he will be there for quite some time. The word treason has been thrown around quite a bit."

"And here he thought he hit the jackpot." Abby held out her hand, "Thanks, Fitz." She took a sip of her wine, "Oh, that's really good. This is really good. Nice choice, Liv." She complimented.

Quinn shook her head, "Oh, none for me, Fitz." She refused the wine. "On a lighter note, Huck and I have an announcement." All eyes turned to her, "I'm pregnant." Shouts of congratulations and a joint toast made by slightly inebriated Fitz and David caused laughter to erupt.

They'd won this time. Barely so, but they had.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Ten: Counting Stars Part I**

 _I see this life like a swinging vine, swing my heart across the line_

 _In my face is flashing signs, seek it out and ye shall find_

 _Old, but I'm not that old, young, but I'm not that bold_

 _And I don't think the world is sold, I'm just doing what we're told_

 _I feel something so right, by doing the wrong thing_

 _I feel something so wrong, by doing the right thing_

 _I could lie, couldn't I, couldn't I, everything that kills me makes me feel alive_

 _\- "Counting Stars" Onerepublic_

* * *

 _Six Months Later_

"He doesn't like me to go anywhere alone." Quinn rolled her eyes, "He's already in a major overprotective drive." She shook her head.

Olivia laughed and shut the door to her office, "Quinn, he loves you and he loves your baby and that's all. You know he was part of a crazy world before all of this." She motioned around her office in the West Wing.

Quinn sighed and picked up her mug of tea, "I know, it's just tiring. I mean he's always been a bit overprotective, but this is like on a whole entire other level. Like letting me out of his sight physically pains him."

Olivia curled up in her chair, "How new is this, Quinn? You haven't been complaining about this until the past, I don't know week?" She guessed.

Nodding, Quinn murmured, "I guess that's about how long it's been going on." She agreed.

Olivia hummed quietly, "Well then, it sounds like there might be something in particular that's bothering him. Have you asked?"

Quinn snorted, "Of course I've asked, but all he does is give me a line about how dangerous the world is."

Frowning, Olivia asked, "And that's all he says?"

Quinn nodded, "That's all he says. It makes me think there's something more is going on here, because he doesn't keep secrets from me."

"Okay," Olivia agreed, "I'll bite. I'll find out if something's wrong."

Quinn nodded, "Thanks, Liv. You're the only one I can think of who he'd talk to if he won't talk to me."

Olivia nodded in agreement. "Okay, is there anything else you can come up? Any other difference in behavior?"

Quinn chewed on her lip as she thought, "He's spent more time in his office. With the door shut." She clarified, "Even when we're not working." She clarified.

"I'll handle it." Olivia promised.

SCANDAL

Olivia stormed into Huck's office, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind her. "What is going on?" She asked quietly.

Huck slipped off his headphones and turned to look at her. "What are you talking about?" He asked, his voice raspy.

"What is going on that has you so concerned about Quinn and the baby?" She clarified, "Why is your wife so concerned about you being overly concerned and secretive?"

Huck hung the headset up in its proper place and slowly turned his chair to face Olivia. "I don't know what you're talking about or what Quinn could possibly be worried about. Maybe it has to do with hormones." He suggested.

Olivia scowled, "Huck," she repeated slowly, "I know you're lying to me. I want it to stop and I want you to tell me the truth."

"Hey, Liv," Harrison pushed open the door to Huck's office, "special delivery for you." He held up an envelope.

Olivia scowled, "Thank you, Harrison. Now get out." She ordered as she snatched the envelope out of his hands. She turned back to Huck. "You have thirty minutes to figure out what is going on inside your head and then you and I are going to talk. I'm not going to pry into your past, but your wife is one of my best friends and she's worried." Spinning she was out of the of the office and stomping down to hers.

Harrison, Stephen and Abby watched her move, "What the hell did Huck do?" Stephen asked with a chuckle.

Abby shrugged, "I just hope it's not anything too bad because I have a lit of cases and there are some really interesting ones on my pile."

A moment later, Huck's door flew open and he followed Olivia's path down to her office, "Whatever is going on is none of your business. And I'm just trying to make sure my wife is safe. Particularly now that she's carrying my child. Our last client was out to get us and the last thing I need is someone else waltzing in here with a story that puts us in the same position and"

Olivia rolled her eyes and tore open the envelope Harrison had handed her earlier, "Oh, stop giving me the martyr spy crap. Something in particular is going on and I want to know what and what the hell is this?" She muttered.

Huck let out a huff, "If you're going to lecture me, then at least pay attention to me." He snatched the papers out of her hands and stared down at them. "Where did this come from?" He asked quietly.

"Harrison gave it to me. It came in the mail." She shrugged, "Urgent was stamped on it so he didn't just toss it with the rest of the mail." She watched as his brow furrowed, "What's wrong?"

"We have a problem." He murmured. Turning, he was back in his office with the sheet music in his hand in thirty seconds.

Quinn appeared in her doorway, "Harrison said you're fighting with him. What's going on?" She asked quickly.

"I don't know." Olivia admitted, "Huck, stop and tell us what the hell is going on?"

"Be quiet!" Huck ordered as he fiddled with an old radio in his office.

"What the hell are you listening to static for?" Stephen was now in the doorway, Abby and Harrison peering over his shoulders.

"Shut up." Huck demanded again, as he continued to turn the knobs of the old contraption. He reached for a piece of paper and a pencil, jotting down notes. A minute later, he shut off the radio and was moving into the conference room. "You listen, every day," he told them, "you always listen. You never don't, because one day there could be something. And you don't want to be blindsided. There were signs over the last week. Signs, but I didn't know." He pushed the sheet music to the center of the room. "Someone's going to tell. This is my world. I have to go and I have to handle this." He glanced at Quinn. "I want you to stay with Olivia. I want you to stay at the White House where the Secret Service can watch you at all times." He ordered.

Quinn was shaking her head, blinking back tears from the damn hormones, "Absolutely not. I need you to tell me more. I need you to tell me now. I'm not going to be in the dark on this. We're a team, Huck. Husband and wife." She waved her hand in the air, showing off the engagement ring and her wedding band. "You don't keep secrets from me and I don't keep secrets from you."

Olivia stepped in the doorway, "This was sent to _me_." She told him, "Not to you. To me. Therefore, this is my case."

"This is my world and you're the First Lady of the United States. You can't be involved in this." Huck told her honestly.

She scoffed, "Please, I think we are long past that First Lady bullshit." She snapped. "Now, we know that I do whatever the hell I want, and if this involves you being safe then Fitz will jump at me helping you, so don't throw him into this either. Now what is going on?"

Huck sighed in resignation, "Fine, someone is calling us."

"Define us." Olivia demanded.

"Others, others who are like me." Huck clarified.

Harrison nodded, "You mean ex-CIA?"

Huck rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "I didn't work for the CIA. I worked for a secret government organization, called B-613."

Stephen frowned, "What is B-613?"

"An organization that is supposed to protect the Republic. Now, we're moving on." Olivia demanded.

"Why are we moving on?" Abby asked.

"Because it is a dangerous organization." Olivia answered slowly, "And we're not really going to tangle with them. Huck is right, that's something we don't want to do." She turned back to Huck, "So, what does it mean that someone is calling you?"

"Someone wants to expose us." Huck continued.

"And what will that do?" Olivia asked.

He shrugged, "Whatever it is, it's not good."

Olivia nodded, "Okay then, we get them all in here."

Huck stepped forward, "That is not a good idea." He glanced at his wife, whose hand was rubbing over her pregnant belly. "They come nowhere near you."

"Then we keep Quinn away from them." Olivia consented.

"And you." Huck ordered.

"Nope, I need to be here. I'm not in danger." She promised. "Just get them here." Turning she called out, "Hal!"

Hal appeared at the next moment, "I want Quinn taken back to the White House."

Quinn was already shaking her head, "No, no way, I'm not going anywhere."

"I'll go with you." Abby offered, "We can work from your office or the Residence, we can do whatever you need from a distance."

Olivia nodded, "If I need to," she nodded to Huck, "I'll go, but I think they'll be more likely to cooperate if I'm the one giving the orders." She decided. "Hal, get Abby and Quinn back to the White House." She turned back to Huck, "You get them here."

SCANDAL

Olivia crossed her arms as the room slowly filled up, "Good afternoon and thank you all for joining us." Her eyes roved to the seven spies. "Now, someone is trying to flush you out, to expose you and B-613. You seven will stay here while my team figures out who it is. Am I understood?"

She was on the other side of seven steely stares and no response.

This was going to be harder than she thought.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 ** _AN: Sorry for the delay in updates, but my boyfriend and I both travel for work and we just happened to be in the same city for a couple of days, which is completely unheard of so we were indulging in actually spending time together between having to work! Anyhow, I have quite a few updates nearly ready for posting! Enjoy! ~ XOXO MAS_**

 **Chapter Eleven: Counting Stars Part II**

 _I feel her love and I feel it burn, down this river every time_

 _Hope is our four letter word, make that money, watch it burn_

 _Old but, I'm not that old, young, but I'm not that bold_

 _And I don't think the world is sold, I'm just doing what we're told_

 _And I feel something so wrong by doing the right thing_

 _I couldn't lie, couldn't I, couldn't I_

 _Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly_

" _Counting Stars" OneRepublic_

* * *

Olivia paced the Oval as she brought Fitz up to speed over the speaker phone. He was hundreds of miles away at the G-8 Summit.

" _Olivia, it's not that I don't want to help Huck and Quinn, it's just that this is really dangerous. Like quite possibly the most dangerous thing you could find yourself involved in. B-613 is not something to take lightly." He murmured, his voice warm and low._

She nodded, settling into his chair at the Resolute Desk. She felt like she was surrounded by him, even though he was so far away. It was comforting and warm, despite the situation at hand, "I know that, but if someone is trying to hurt Huck"

" _We have to help." He sighed and she could picture him running a hand through his hair, "Logically, I know you're right. I just don't like you being in the line of fire." He admitted._

She wished she could wrap her arms around his waist and press a kiss to his chest, "I don't want to be anymore than you want me to be." She murmured, "But, we have to do something."

" _Okay," Fitz nodded, "what's the plan?"_

"We find out who sent the sheet music, then we find out who would want to out them. There has to be someone outside who's funding this, who's helping. It's just a matter of who."

" _Think Huck can figure it out from the sheet music?" Fitz asked._

Olivia sighed and tugged at the strands of her hair before pulling it up into a low bun, "I hope so."

" _I don't like it. I don't like that I'm not there right now. I should" Fitz started to protest._

"You can't leave the G-8 Summit. The Queen of England is there. A lot of major world leaders are there. It's your job. You'll be home soon." He was going to protest, but she held up her hands, "Go lead things." She ordered, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

" _I love you. You have to promise me you're going to be careful." He ordered her and she wished he was there to kiss her. H_

"I love you, too." Her cellphone ringing stopped the conversation. "What?" She snapped.

" _Liv, it's time to come back to the office. We've got something." Harrison's deep voice echoed into the phone. "We know who sent the sheet music."_

Olivia switched it to speaker phone so Fitz could hear as well "Who?" She asked quickly. "Get him into the office." She ordered.

 _Harrison shook his head, "We can't." Harrison murmured._

"Well why the hell not?" She snapped back.

" _Because he's dead."_

"I'm on my way." With a parting promise to Fitz that she would be careful and she loved him, she ended the call and was out the door, SSAs hot on her heels. "We need to get back to the office now." She ordered.

SCANDAL

"What do you have?"

"Robert Brooks, otherwise known as Crosby." Huck started to bring her up to date, "He committed suicide just after mailing this. He was my handler. It's in morse code. My name is in there. There are other names on there."

 _Quinn and Abby were on the speaker phone already, "What does that mean?" Quinn asked._

"It means I'm supposed to disappear." Huck replied.

 _Olivia could hear Quinn's panic, "You can't, no, Huck, you don't get to leave me!" She screeched._

"I'm not going anywhere." Huck promised.

"That's right, we're going to start working our sources, NSA, CIA, everything." Olivia ordered, "Time to find out what has the spooks spooked." She ordered. "Ears to the ground people." She was dialing on her cell phone already.

SCANDAL

An hour later, Quinn was excitedly speaking through the phone again, "Nigel Sarnoff, he's a hacker. He's been underground for the last two years, but sources say that he's set to receive something huge."

"Okay, Abby, get with David, use him to help find who is attorney is. A man like this has council. There are about half a dozen people who would represent him. Get the list, go through it and get me a meeting now." She ordered. "I'm going to start making a few more phone calls, see if I can find who's feeding Sarnoff his information."

It took David less than twenty minutes to give her Barry's name and set her up an appointment. SSAs scouted the building first. Two snipers were on on neighboring buildings. With Hal and Tom by her side, she pushed open the door. "Nice office, counsel."

Barry turned, "Neutral ground, Mrs. Grant. It's an honor to see you again."

"Where is Nigel Sarnoff?" She snapped, uninterested in pleasantries.

Barry held in an eye roll, knowing that it wouldn't help him professionally to piss off the First Lady of the United States. If she didn't take him down herself, then her husband would get him disbarred easily. "Right here." He opened up a computer and Olivia scowled.

"It's an honor, Mrs. Grant." Nigel's distorted voice and face appeared before her, bouncing off the stone walls. "I'm a fan of your work, even if we find ourselves on opposing sides." He complimented.

She scoffed, "I'm flattered. Why are you doing this?" She asked bluntly.

"Because these are not good people. They are murderers and thieves and I'm doing the public a service by exposing them." He informed her.

Olivia stepped forward, "If that's true, then why haven't you exposed them already? What are you waiting on?"

"I'm waiting for the next news cycle." He informed her, "I have time. This story won't go away. When the G-8 Summit is over soon. That's when I'll drop it." Olivia bit back a smirk, shutting the laptop without waiting for any more information, she turned and left Barry behind, Tom and Hal hurrying to keep up with her.

SCANDAL

Ignoring the questions flying in from Harrison and Stephen when she got back to the office, and the fact that David was there wanting to knowhow her meeting had gone, she marched straight into Huck's office, shutting the door, "What will happen if this gets out? If your names and what B-613 is gets out. How bad will it be?" She asked softly.

Huck turned, "What we did, it makes it hard to say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the national anthem. It will be bad." He finished.

"Sarnoff doesn't have the goods yet. I need you to go into that room and I need you to see if they know who is feeding him that information." She ordered. Huck nodded and stood, she placed a hand on his arm, "They need to turn over their guns now."

He sighed as she picked up a basket from the floor, holding it out to him. He placed the gun strapped to his ankle in the basket. Taking it from her, he pushed his way into the office.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Twelve: Counting Stars Part III**

 _Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep_

 _Dreaming about the things that we could be_

 _But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard_

 _Said no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars_

 _Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep_

 _Dreaming about the things that we could be_

 _But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard_

 _Said no more counting dollars, we'll be, we'll be counting stars_

" _Counting Stars" OneRepublic_

* * *

"It's been eight hours. Our time is almost up." Charlie paced the room, eyeing the other former spies in the room as he did so, "I suggest we find out on our own."

Paul Gray tipped his chair back, "Well who would want to expose us? Who would gain" he stopped speaking, "Other than Crosby, no one else knew about our team. So it has to be one of us." He concluded quickly.

Betsy Ray, who used to enjoy setting things on fire and now owned a B&B in Vermont, stood up slowly, "So if it's one of us, then"

Mother of three, Maggie, drew her gun first. It didn't even take a full second for Melvin, Betsy, Paul, Charlie and Huck to draw theirs as well.

Harrison, Stephen and David, who were standing in the hallway drinking coffee with a few of the SSAs while Olivia was back at her office at the White House with Abby and Quinn, stopped speaking. "It got really quiet in there." Stephen observed.

Harrison backed up a few steps, turning slightly. His coffee mug slipped from his hands, "Damn it."

"What?" Stephen asked.

"They didn't give up all of their guns." He muttered, pushing the door open, "What's going on guys?"

It only took a second before the SSAs who were there were armed and directing their guns in the doorway. "Drop them." One ordered.

Harrison held up his hands, "Okay, okay, I want everyone to calm down." Harrison placed a hand on of the SSAs guns, "Lower them." He ordered softly.

"But"

"Lower them." He ordered again. Reluctantly, both SSAs lowered their guns, "Now, you all think you have a problem, but you don't." He said confidently, "You see, Olivia Grant is working on this. She's promised to figure it out, and she will. Because she's the best." He chuckled, "You see, right now she's figuring out who wants to take you out of your lives. And she'll find out and whoever it is will be stopped. So let's just hand over your guns and whoa" he stepped back when all guns except for Huck's turned to him, "okay, you guys keep those, but that doesn't mean we have to be pointing them at each other. So on the count of three, lower your weapons." He kept still, "One, Huck be a leader, two, come on Huck, three." Huck's gun dropped to his side and slowly everyone else followed suit.

When Harrison stepped back into the hallway, Stephen was shaking his head, "You can have my office if you want it."

Harrison was shaking as he laughed, pushing his way past Stephen and David and into his own office. "Please tell me Olivia has a plan."

"Of course she has a plan. She's Olivia Grant. At least I think she kind of has a plan." Stephen answered.

"Kind of? She needs to get back here with her plan because this suit is way to nice to have bullet holes in it."

It was another twenty minutes before Olivia was back, "Harrison, David, Huck wired video and sound from the conference room to his office. Go, listen to every conversation, take notes." She ordered. "Stephen, you're meeting Abby and Quinn at the archives. I want you to go through old news stories, see if anything could've made one of those people in there want to expose one another." She ordered. She glanced down at her watch, "Damn, I'm late for Jer's pick up. I've got to go. Call me with any updates. I'll be back as soon as I can." She promised.

SCANDAL

Harrison and David spent the next three hours writing down every word that came out of the conference room. Everything from the Paul Gray's students he wanted to sleep with, to Betsy's client who skipped out without paying to the stats of Maggie's daughter's soccer game.

"This is pointless." David grumbled as he jotted down a prescription Melvin was ticking off over the phone.

Harrison sighed as he listened to Huck leave a very sweet, seemingly uncharacteristic, voicemail for Quinn. "Yeah, it's beginning to feel that way." He agreed.

SCANDAL

"This is definitely a waste of time." Quinn grumbled. "These guys are professionals, there isn't going to be anything here for us to find."

"I've got to agree with you on that." Abby conceded.

"I guess we've just got to cover all of our basis." Stephen turned the knob, "You'd think with all that tax payer money we send them we'd be able to scan this stuff and work with equipment that didn't have knobs." He muttered. The two women just chuckled.

SCANDAL

"Olivia," Huck paced just outside the conference room, "if you can't find something soon I'm not sure we're going to be able to keep them here." He admitted.

Olivia cursed as she looked in the room at the bickering former spies. "David!" She called out, "Get me another meeting with Barry. Tonight."

Within two hours, Olivia was once again stalking into the same warehouse, "Okay, we're going to have to have a change in plans." She told Barry and Nigel.

"Mrs. Grant," Nigel began from his spot on the laptop, "I realize that you're angry, but"

"Let me be very clear, Nigel, if you don't tell me who you're getting your information from, your attorney over here, Barry, he's dead." She threatened.

"What?" Barry nearly screeched.

"If you release that information, there are going to be six very pissed off former agents who come looking for you. You may be protected, but they'll find Barry and they'll kill him." She reminded him.

"Mrs. Grant, I do believe you're overreacting. Now, you have two more hours before I release this information to the public. The G-8 Summit will have wrapped up by then and your husband will be on a flight back home." Nigel stated in a calm and condescending voice.

Olivia reacted on instinct. She picked up the laptop and threw it across the room before turning on Barry. "I need a name Barry."

"I don't have a name." Barry held up his hands and backed away, "I don't know anything, I just know where I'm supposed to transfer the money to and"

"The account number Barry. I want the account number now." She held out a pen an paper, "Write it down. Write it down now."

When Olivia was back in the car she was rattling off the account number to Huck. "What can you do with that?"

" _It's a Swiss bank account, I can't hack a Swiss account, especially in 22 hours." he paused._

"What Huck?" Olivia asked.

" _I have to go."_

"No, Huck do not hang up the phone." She protested as the dial tone sounded in her ear. "Shit, drive faster." She ordered.

SCANDAL

Huck opened the door, "Everyone needs to leave now." He told Harrison.

Harrison was shaking his head, "Huck we have orders from Olivia"

"Go. Wait downstairs and get in the car with Olivia and leave." Huck ordered before turning and slamming the door.

"What's going on, Spin?" Maggie asked.

"Olivia found a bank account number." Huck replied slowly, "She knows where the money was going to." He paused, "CH002301151198" he began.

"22 pills," Betsy interrupted.

"350 milligrams each." Charlie finished as Maggie stood with her gun drawn.

Huck stepped in front of Maggie, "Look, we don't need to kill him." He stated calmly, "We've all worked really hard to get where we are today. We lost a lot, they took a lot from us, but we're happy now." He paused, "There's this girl, and she loves me and I love her and we're starting a family her name is," he paused again, "no I'm not telling you her name because you'll use it, but the point is that they broke us. Melvin, he just wants to be heard. He just wants the world to know what they did to us and to pay." He stepped around Maggie so he could see the rest of them, "I understand that he wants to be heard, that he wants everyone to know and to understand what they took from us, but we've moved on. We're not those people in anymore, we don't have to be those people anymore and"

A shot rang through the air.

Huck cringed as Melvin's body slumped forward. Slowly, Maggie lowered her gun, "It was a nice speech, Spin." She said softly, "But now he can't threaten us anymore."

Betsy sighed, "We should get started on the clean up."

SCANDAL

An hour later, Huck was locking up the office. "Olivia asked me to wait for you." Tom said, "She said you may want to see Quinn, or you may just want to walk. She wasn't sure."

Huck sighed, "Is she at the White House?" Tom nodded, "Can you drive me?" The SSA nodded again. "Okay."

Forty-five minutes later he was stepping into Olivia's office. "Oh thank God." Quinn was up, moving as quickly as she could to Huck. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"It was Melvin." He said quietly. "And they shot him."

Quinn rubbed her hands up and down his arms, "I'm sorry, Huck." He shrugged, "Do you want to go home?" She asked quietly.

He nodded, "We'll see you guys tomorrow."

Olivia was quiet until they reached the door of her office, "No, we're closed tomorrow. I think we could all use a day off."

Huck gave her a small smile, "Thanks, Liv."

When the door shut, she slumped back, "Well, hell."

"There's the understatement of the century." Harrison grumbled.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Thirteen: She's Beautiful**

 _She's beautiful like that_

 _Like a winter rose, snow on the ground_

 _I was blessed the day I found her_

 _I'm one lucky man_

 _Cause the more I know, the more I need her_

 _The more I love the more I see her heart is a shining star_

 _She's beautiful like that_

 _\- "She's Beautiful" Darius Rucker_

* * *

 _3 Months Later_

Olivia bit back a groan as he cell phone echoed across their bedroom. Choosing to ignore it, she pressed her head into her pillow. "Livie, your phone, please shut it up." Fitz's voice rumbled in her ear.

"If you want to know what it's about, you answer it." She reached under her and put her pillow over her head, effectively blocking out the sound.

Fitz made a grunt of assent before reaching over her. His hand fumbled around her nightstand. "Where is it?"

"Clutch." She mumbled. The evening before they'd taken the kids out to dinner. It had been a while since they got to do that. Once the kids were asleep, though, and they'd finally made their way to their bedroom, clothes were removed at a frantic pace. Olivia knew she'd chucked her clutch away somewhere, she just wasn't sure where that was.

"Seriously?" Fitz mumbled as the phone went quiet. "Never mind." He dropped back next to his wife only to have it start ringing again. "Fine, I hear you." He muttered darkly, swinging his legs over the bed and stumbling blindly through the dark room. A moment later there was a tap at the door. Picking up his jeans, Fitz tugged them on, "What?"

"Go away!" Olivia mumbled as the door opened and a sliver of light slipped into the room.

"Mr. President, Mrs. Grant, I'm sorry to wake you both, but Huck is on the phone. Quinn is in labor." Wesley, one of the SSAs on duty replied.

Olivia's head yanked out from under the pillow, "Quinn's in labor." She moved to sit up, "Shit, sorry, Wes, but you've got to leave. I'm naked." She murmured, "We need clothes and we need to get to the hospital. Quinn's having a baby."

They heard Wes's chuckle as the door shut and then him murmuring into the phone, probably to Huck, to tell him the First Couple was indeed up.

Ten minutes later, Olivia was ticking things off her fingers, "We've got Eleanor's present right? She'll kill us if we don't have it. And the kids are taken care of, we'll get them in the morning and take them to see Quinn assuming everything goes smoothly." Fitz opened his mouth to reply, but Olivia just kept talking, "And everyone else knows. Huck got ahold of everyone?" She didn't wait for a response from either Wes or Fitz, "The car's already set up, right? And everyone knows that if they need you, you'll be at James Madison?"

Fitz chuckled and rounded in front of her, resting his hands on her shoulders, "No one needs me, Liv. At least not at 2 in the morning. And I'm sure I'll be back here in time for the work day." He assured her, "Okay? And if there's a crisis, the car can bring me back. I'm sure I won't be missed for a few hours in the middle of the night. As for Eleanor, yes, her present is in the bag." He waved one of the bags in the air, "And part of ours is here. Everyone is on the way. The kids have plenty of protection. And we'll come back to get them once it's a normal hour. Quinn will be fine. So stop worrying and stop bossing people around, let's just get to the hospital."

She scowled, "I'm not bossing people around I'm just"

"Being Olivia Grant. We all love you, Livie, now let's get going." He slipped his hand in hers, lightly squeezing her fingers as they moved down to the tunnel, where their car was waiting.

OUAT

"You do know that when your phone rings in the middle of the night, it's prudent to answer it." Cyrus began his chiding the moment they entered the waiting room. "That usually means it's an emergency."

Olivia swiped at him with her hand, "Hush up, old man. We know you're nervous."

"Nervous?" Cyrus shook his head, rocking on his feet, "Why would I be nervous?"

"Because this is how you get when babies are being born." Mellie snarked at him. "You did it with Jerry and Karen." She reminded him from her place on the sofa. She was stretched out with her head in Stephen's lap, a book held above her head.

"I do not, I am"

"They Great and Powerful Cyrus Beene." Fitz interrupted with a grin, "The Wizard of Washington. We know. You're tough and mean and scary. We get it." He nudged David in the ribs, "You're also a big softy when it comes to our family's babies."

Cyrus scowled, "I may not like you right now."

"Like him or not, I don't care. Who wants to go find tea and coffee with me? I think we're going to be in for a bit of a night."

Abby stood up and stretched, her back cracking in the process. "I'll help."

Harrison nodded, "Same. You all can deal with the Great and Powerful Cyrus Beene, Wizard of Washington." He waved Cyrus off as the older man growled. "Not scaring me." He taunted.

"Oh, leave our wizard alone. He is old, so we shouldn't upset him too much." Olivia chuckled, looping her arm through Harrison's as the pushed the doors open, two SSAs following them dutifully.

OUAT

When Fitz called to check in around 7:30, he was told everything was unusually quiet and there was no reason that he couldn't stay at the hospital. He arranged for Tom and Hal to bring the kids along with a few reports for him to go over while they continued to wait.

Huck had been giving them periodic updates. Saying everything was alright, but Quinn didn't want anyone else in the room.

When Karen and Jerry arrived, Karen anxious for another feeding, which Olivia happily obliged, Jerry took up pacing next to Cyrus.

"See, this is what worries me about the kids." Stephen muttered as he stroked Mellie's forehead. She'd fallen asleep about an hour before, her breathing even and slow.

"What worries you?" David asked, flipping through a brief he'd asked Tom and Hal to stick in with Fitz's work.

"Jerry is doing exactly what Cyrus does. Do we really want all of the kids to be like Cyrus?" Stephen asked.

Cyrus turned on his heel, "Not nice, Finch."

Jerry's face fell into a frown, "Uncle Stephen are you being mean to Uncle Cyrus?" He asked slowly.

Stephen's expression morphed into the picture of innocence, "Absolutely not. When have you ever known me to be mean, Jer?"

Jerry seemed to consider this for a moment, and the adults watched, "Not sure." He shrugged.

Olivia chuckled as she burped Karen, "Come here, Jer, let's not harass Uncle Stephen and Uncle Cyrus too much. We're all a little tired."

Jerry sighed and ambled over to his parents, "Momma?" he asked looking up at her, "I love Karen all the way past the moon and back," he began. Fitz laid down his pen for this, "But can we have another baby? I think Karen will want to be an older sister too. It's fun being an older brother. Plus, maybe I could have a brother then?"

Fitz and Olivia stared at each other and then at Jerry. David chuckled from his place next to Abby, "Well, Momma and Daddy? Can we have another baby?" He asked mockingly. He grimaced when Abby elbowed him in the ribs lightly.

Clearing his throat, Fitz set aside his papers and pulled Jerry up on his lap, "We'll think about it, Jer. Momma just had Karen." He reminded their son.

Jerry seemed to be considering this for a moment before Olivia responded, "I don't see why not." She spoke up, "What's one more baby?" She asked.

Fitz's eyes beamed down at her, "I have a feeling it's a lot, but I do like the sound of that." He agreed.

"Dear lord, how many children will you two have?" Harrison asked.

Olivia picked up one of Karen's soft toys and chucked it across the waiting room at him, "As many as we want."

The door burst open at that moment, "He's here. He's here. I have a baby. We have a son." Huck's eyes were swimming with tears.

Jerry squirmed his way off his dad's lap and threw himself at Huck, "Can I meet him, Uncle Huck?"

Huck swooped down and picked up Jerry, "Everyone can come meet him." He turned and led the way down the hall.

When he pushed the door open, they were met at the sight of a flushed and sweating Quinn cradling a baby swaddled in a blue blanket. Huck thought she'd never looked more beautiful than in that very moment. "Javi, it's time to meet your family." She cooed softly. "Family," Quinn looked up, "this is Javi."

Jerry leaned over Huck's arm, "Hi Javi, I'm your cousin, Jerry. I promise to always beat up the mean people for you."

The room burst out into a simultaneous peal of laughter. Out of the mouths of babes was definitely an understatement.

OUAT

XOXO

MAS


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Fourteen: Top of the World**

 _You're on top of the world and I'm just waiting making up your excuses_

 _You say that love's tough, are you sure_

 _Ain't it just a piece of cake to make me look like a fool_

 _You're on top of the world and if you're thinking_

 _I've been blinking while you're breaking the rules_

 _Don't that make you the fool_

 _Oh, you're on top of the world_

 _\- "Top of the World" Kate Voegele_

* * *

 _One Month Later_

"We have a new client." Harrison barged into Olivia's office waving a file around. "And this is big, like so big I don't know if we can help, but I don't know if we can say no."

Olivia was staring down at her desk, "We can always say no. We always reserve the right to say no." She mumbled.

Harrison frowned, "Okay, let me rephrase it, I don't know if you want us to say no based on who this will affect."

Sighing, Olivia opened her desk drawer, slipped something in it and slammed it shut, "Let me see the file." She held out her hand and snapped her fingers impatiently. She opened it and skimmed the info page Huck had put together. "Shit."

Harrison was already nodding, "I know."

Standing, Olivia reached behind her and shrugged into her blazer, "I need to go talk to Cy and Fitz before we do anything." She tucked the file into her purse, "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Start brainstorming and digging." She called over her shoulder.

Harrison nodded absently, his eyes glued to Olivia's desk, "Whatever you're thinking about doing, you shouldn't." Stephen's voice behind him made Harrison jump about a foot in the air.

"This case is huge, Stephen." Harrison murmured.

"They're all huge." Stephen took a sip of his coffee. "This one is no bigger."

"There's a Supreme Court Justice on the line here." Harrison pointed out.

"We've had one of those before." Stephen reminded him of the Madam Case. "What does all that have to do with Olivia's desk drawer?"

"Whatever she put in there is a distraction. We can't have any distractions."

Stephen chuckled, "Harrison, she's the bloody First Lady of the United States of America. Her life is a distraction." Rolling his eyes, Stephen advised, "Just let it go. There's no reason to worry about whatever it is. When Olivia's ready, she'll tell us."

SCANDAL

Olivia tapped on Cyrus's door, "Got a minute?" She asked, poking her head in.

Cyrus looked up, "What's up, Liv? I thought you were working from the office today, vetting clients and stuff."

She waved a file in the air, "Care to go see the President with me?" She asked.

He groaned, "Damn it, you're going to make my job more difficult, aren't you?"

She chuckled, "Yeah, unfortunately, I think I'm about to ruin your day."

Standing up, Cyrus picked up his blazer, slipping it on, "And just when I thought today was actually going to be slightly boring."

Olivia shook her head, "Wishful thinking on all of our parts." She muttered as they approached Lauren's desk. "Is he busy?"

Lauren shook her head, "No, Mrs. Grant, go on in."

Olivia sent the young woman a grateful smile before tapping on the door to the Oval, "Fitz?"

Fitz looked up from his brief, "Livie," he beamed before noting Cyrus behind her, "and Cyrus, that's never a good combination." He sighed and rose, going to meet his wife to press a kiss to her lips, "What's happened?"

"We have a problem with your Supreme Court nominee." Olivia tossed the file on the coffee table before settling down on the sofa next to Fitz.

"Again?" Cyrus grumbled, reaching for the file. "Shit, it's Randall." He tossed Fitz the file.

Fitz's eyes skimmed the file slowly, "Did he do it?"

Olivia shrugged, "I don't know, yet." She paused, "Will it help if we take the case?"

Cyrus nodded, "Please, make this go away. A denial, whatever."

Olivia's eyes narrowed, "Let me be clear about something, Sarah Stanner is my client, not Judge Randall."

"But Judge Randall is our pick for Supreme Court Justice." Cyrus argued.

"But Stanner's attorney is the one who has hired Olivia." Fitz surmised. He sighed, "If you take this to protect Sarah, is there a way"

"I'll find a way." Olivia leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Cyrus, go away." Olivia murmured. Grumbling under his breath, Cyrus stood and slammed the door shut behind him. "I'll apologize later if his feelings are really hurt."

Fitz chuckled, "He'll be fine. He's just moody because this is two justices in a row."

Olivia reached up and cupped his jaw lightly, "Just so you know, I took another test today." Her husband's eyes lit up and Olivia shook her head, "Another negative." She murmured.

Fitz sighed and tucked her more firmly into his side, "Livie, it'll happen when it happens." He pressed a kiss to her temple, "You and I both know that's how it works."

Wrapping an arm around his waist, she pressed a kiss to his chest, inhaling in scent, "I know. It's just, our damn son put it in my head that I want another baby." She raised herself up so she was slightly hovering above him, "And I'm not sure if you knew this about me or not, but I'm not a patient person."

Fitz let out a full-bodied laugh, "Really? You're not patient? Livie, I would've never guessed that."

Olivia tried to bite back a grin, but failed miserably. "Mean."

"I love you, Livie. Impatience and all." He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

She sighed and pressed her cheek firmly into his palm. "I love you, too, Fitz." She murmured softly. "I guess I better go get my team moving on Stanner." She pushed herself up to a standing position, offering a hand to Fitz to pull him up.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and walked her to the door. "Good luck, Liv." He pressed another kiss to her lips before she left.

SCANDAL

Tom pulled the SUV up outside of the Stanner household. "Damn," he murmured, "how exactly do you plan to get inside?"

Olivia looked over at Abby, Harrison and Stephen, "There's only one time." She motioned to the numerous news vans parked outside with men and women getting cameras ready and doing mic checks, "Top of the hour." She replied grimly. Turning her eyes on the clock, she warned them, "Five minutes and then we move. As discreetly as possible."

Tom nodded, "Perimeter check has already been done. We've got snipers in place and someone went through the house. They posed as gas maintenance. You're all clear to head in." He promised her.

Olivia glanced back at the clock, "Good. Everyone get ready."

SCANDAL

 _That Evening_

The press outside doubled since that morning once word got out that Olivia Grant and Associates had taken the case. The Stanners had been kind enough to offer up their guest bedrooms to Olivia, Abby, Harrison and Stephen, since getting in and out of the house was much harder than it had been that morning.

"That won't make this problem go away." Olivia commented from her place in the doorway.

Sarah Stanner pulled the wine bottle away from her lips and set it on the table top. Pushing herself up, she moved to the wine cabinet, pulled out a bottle, opened it and set it in front of a chair, "Join me?"

Olivia hesitated for a moment before her mind flicked over the negative pregnancy test. Taking a seat, she tipped the bottle slightly towards Sarah before taking a long sip. When she pulled the bottle away, her eyes were wide, "Shit, that's the best bottle of wine I think I've ever had."

Sarah Stanner chuckled, "I thought I'd heard somewhere you liked a good red wine."

Olivia's smile was soft, "I love a good red wine."

The woman put her head in her hands, "I don't know what to do." She admitted softly.

Reaching across the table, Olivia gently wrapped her hand around the woman's wrist, "I think you should start with the truth."

Sarah scoffed, "Easier said than done."

Olivia nodded, "I know it is, but it's the right thing to do."

"I never meant to hurt my family." She murmured.

"It was a long time ago, Sarah. Your husband has already forgiven that." She patted the woman's hand. "Now, here's to the truth." Olivia held up her bottle, "I think it's supposed to set us free, or something like that."

Sarah held up her own and the two women took long sips. "This really is good wine." Sarah commented.

"It really is." Olivia agreed.

SCANDAL

The following morning, Olivia watched from inside the Stanner household and Sarah Stanner and her husband stood in front of the press at the top of the hour to admit to her affair with Judge Randall while she was in law school.

"What?" Olivia answered her phone.

" _This is detrimental to our nomination. You can't do this!" Cyrus screamed into the phone._

Olivia rolled her eyes and held in another sigh at Cyrus's dramatics, "Cy, I told you that Sarah was my client, not the judge. And this is what's best for her and her family."

" _We're talking about a Supreme Court Justice nominee here, Liv. That trumps a CEO. You have to stop this."_

Olivia was shaking her head even though Cyrus couldn't see her, "Sorry, Cy, but I'm not stopping this. I can't stop it." She amended. "This is how the game is played, you know that. Find another nominee."

" _Olivia Carolyn Grant, so help me God if you don't stop this, I will." Cyrus threatened._

"And exactly how will you justify the President's Chief of Staff taking down the First Lady?" Olivia snapped.

" _It would do you good to remember, Olivia, that your position in the White House is ornamental at best. You're lucky you are allowed to have a job. You should be picking out china patterns and hosting parties and speaking out about literacy and the arts. You shouldn't be meddling in White House affairs."_

Olivia felt her blood boil at his words, "I would think very long and hard before you continue speaking." She interrupted. "Now, I will do what's best for my client and my firm's reputation. It is _my_ name on that door. And I will do my best not to drag my husband under the bus in the process." She paused, "That being said, based on his apparent unsavory reputation, would it not be better to find a _different_ candidate with a cleaner background for President anyhow?" She snapped before hanging up on Cyrus.

SCANDAL

Cyrus paced around the conference room as he waited for it to slowly fill up. Once everyone was settled, he leaned forward, "We have a problem." He posted a picture of Judge Randall on the board behind him, along with a picture of Sarah Stanner. "Everyone, this is Sanders Black." He motioned to the man sitting on his right, "He's going to lead the charge in undermining Sarah Stanner's statement to the press."

Everyone looked around and one aide finally tentatively raised his hand, "Um, Cyrus, isn't Sarah Stanner Mrs. Grant's client."

Cyrus's eyes narrowed in on the young man, "It would be best if you kept your mouth shut. Nothing we discuss leaves this room or I will make sure you never work on the Hill again. Are we understood?" There were murmurs of assent and Cyrus turned to Black, "Have at it."

Sanders Black nodded and adjusted his coat, "I want all of the dirt dug up on Mrs. Stanner." He began slowly.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Fifteen: Strip Me**

 _Everyday I fight for all my future somethings_

 _A thousand little wars I have to choose between_

 _I could spend a lifetime earning things I don't need_

 _That's like chasing rainbows and coming home empty_

 _And if you strip me, strip it all away_

 _If you strip me, what would you find_

 _If you strip me, strip it all away_

 _I'll be alright_

 _\- "Strip Me" Natasha Bedingfield_

* * *

Brenda, Scott, Mark, and James, sat in the backseat of the SUV parked just down from the Stanner house. The press was still camped out front. "Top of the hour." Tom reminded them, pointing to the clock. He craned his neck slightly, "Want to tell me what's going on that it managed to drag the four of you away from the White House?"

They all stared at him. James finally responded, "We missed Liv?"

Tom's eyes narrowed, "And why exactly are you four looking guilty and scared?"

"Because we're about to bust Cyrus on what he's doing because it's really bad. We'd have gone straight to the president, but he got dragged into a meeting." Brenda spit out quickly.

"Plus if we told the president we'd have a dead body to cover up." Mark quipped.

Tom rolled his eyes, "Okay, let's go." He opened his door and led the four into the back of the house.

They found Olivia seated on the living room floor, papers scattered around her, "Olivia?" Brenda's voice drew her away from her research on a new potential client.

Olivia's eyes narrowed, "What happened?"

The four of them joined her on the living room floor without batting an eye, "It's Cyrus." James sighed, "And I love him, but this is so bad. What's he's done is so bad."

Olivia leaned back against the overstuffed chair behind her, "Let me guess, he's started researching Sarah Stanner."

Mark leaned forward, "He hired Sanders Black to look into her. He told us that if we told anyone what we were doing, we'd never work on the Hill again, but Liv, he's directly going up against you."

Olivia waved her hand, "Sanders Black is a small man." She dismissed him as a threat, "And as for his Hill threat, that isn't up to him. That's up to Fitz and you four are more than secure in your jobs." She promised them, "Now, the real problem is that I know Cyrus, and right now he's on the warpath. He's going to release something detrimental about Sarah, whether or not it's true will remain to be seen, but"

"It's already been done." Harrison interrupted. Stalking into the living room, he picked up the remote control to the television and flicked it on. The TV lit up and the news was showing pictures of Sarah Stanner as a party girl in college.

Olivia turned up the volume and listened. "He doesn't have anything real, yet." She surmised, "But he's using this as a distraction while he digs." Pushing herself up to a standing position, she sighed, "I need to find out what Sarah's lied about."

SCANDAL

When Fitz came out of his meeting on North Korea he was met by a pacing Lauren. "Lauren, what's wrong?"

The young woman wrung her hands and bit at her lip, "Mr. President, I think I should tell you something that I'm not supposed to know and you're not supposed to know, but I think I need to tell you because it involves Mrs. Grant and I just like her so much and I'm worried and"

"Come on in, Lauren." Fitz ushered her into the Oval Office, "What happened to Livie? What do I need to know?" He asked, lightly pushing her to the sofa to try to get her to calm down so she would talk and not ramble.

The woman took a breath, "James told me that Cyrus called them all into the conference room with Sanders Black to destroy Sarah Stanner. He doesn't care that it's Mrs. Grant's case. He threatened that if anyone spoke about it he'd make sure they didn't work on the Hill again. Brenda, Mark, Scott and James have already left with Tom to go to the Stanner house to meet Mrs. Grant." She blurted out.

Fitz's eyes narrowed, "Well then, thank you, Lauren. It seems I may need to have a word with my Chief of Staff."

Lauren stood and nodded, "Of course, sorry, Mr. President."

Fitz was shaking his head, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Lauren. Cyrus is the one at fault." He shut the door behind them. "Now, I'm going to find him." He muttered, turning down the hall way sharply.

SCANDAL

Hanging up the phone after informing Fitz of her conversation with Cyrus, she turned back to the kitchen. "Whatever they're putting out there right now is nothing." Olivia warned the woman. "I'm telling you, Sarah, if there is a skeleton in your closet, they will find it."

"I don't have anything to admit." Sarah remained adamant.

Olivia could tell the woman was lying. She just knew it. "Sarah and I need the room." She snapped.

With a resigned sigh, her husband cleared out with Olivia's team behind him. "I'm not"

"Yes, you are." Olivia interrupted her. "My guess is that it happened once or twice over the years. Maybe you ran into Randall at an event? Maybe he called you? Maybe it was hard here at home and you and your husband weren't getting along." Olivia smiled, "I'm not judging, okay? I'm just saying that while the President is not behind this because Fitz doesn't work this way, there are people on the Hill who desperately need Randall to be clean of all sin. Right now they're painting you out as the villain. Just wait until they actually get something more than a picture of you partying. Tell me what I'm up against, Sarah. Let me help you."

Sarah raked a hand through her hair, "There was one time." She sighed, "On a business trip. I ran into him." She bit her lip and looked down, "There's a chance that" she swallowed hard, "my daughter"

"May be his." Olivia finished. Sarah nodded mutely.

"What?" All eyes moved to the doorway where her husband was standing.

"Phil." Sarah moved to her husband, but he was already headed up the backstairs.

Stephen came in waving his cell phone, "We have something worse happening than that."

Olivia sighed, "What now?"

"Your company is moving to fire you based on a morality clause." He announced. Sarah's head dropped to her hands and Olivia bit back a groan. Things just got much harder than she anticipated.

SCANDAL

Fitz stood in the doorway to Cyrus's office, "Do you want me to fire you?" He asked bluntly.

Cyrus looked up, "Pardon?"

"I asked, do you want me to fire you?" Fitz stepped inside and closed the door.

"Mr. President" Cyrus began.

Fitz interrupted him, "I think you want me to fire you. Otherwise, you would know not to step into my wife's work. Otherwise you would know not to call my wife _ornamental_."

"Olivia called to tell you." Cyrus surmised.

Fitz shook his head, "No, I was told about Sanders Black and I called Olivia to make sure she was okay. She told me you threatened her. She told me what you said. How dare you say those things to her." Fitz's voice rose steadily. "You and I both know that she is anything, but ornamental. We are partners. She is brilliant. And I would never shut down her business or squash her dreams. Especially over a Supreme Court Justice who was stupid enough to sleep with one of his law school students."

"Look, Mr. President," Cyrus tried to interrupt him, "I was just protecting"

"The wrong person." Fitz finished, "You drop this, Cyrus. You drop this or it will be you who doesn't work on the Hill again." He warned. "Find me another Justice. Randall will never make it through now anyhow. You could attack Sarah Stanner all you want, Randall is done." He turned without waiting for Cyrus's response, slamming the office door shut behind him.

SCANDAL

"I got a copy of the morality clause, Huck just sent it over." Abby spread out on the living room floor next to Olivia. Olivia skimmed it, "It's unbreakable. Particularly if the affair comes out. Right now, there's enough going around the news to oust her without any proof."

Olivia sighed and Harrison piped up, "We need to move fast, Liv. They're going to vote on this tomorrow at 8:30."

"I'm thinking." Olivia snapped. Her stomach rolled unpleasantly and she groaned. She could feel a headache coming on and all she wanted was to wrap up in one of Fitz's t-shirts and have him hold her. "Have Huck look into the other partners. See if he can dig up anything good by tomorrow morning."

"And if he can't?" Stephen asked, picking up his cell phone to dial Huck.

"We'll have to see if they call our bluff." Olivia informed him.

SCANDAL

"This will never work." Abby muttered, carrying a box filled with files the following morning.

"It's our only option." Harrison pressed the up button on the elevator. "At least Cyrus backed off."

"Liv said Fitz threatened to fire him." Abby murmured softly, aware that anyone could hear them. "David said the tension in the West Wing is palpable."

Without waiting for permission, the two of them bypassed the secretary and pushed their way into the conference room where the partners were meeting. "Good morning, gentlemen." Harrison set his box down on the table with a loud thump. "My name is Harrison Wright, this is Abby Whelan-Rosen and we are with Olivia Grant and Associates." He introduced them, "We are here on behalf of our client, Sarah Stanner."

One of the partners, an older gentleman, stood up, "Mr. Wright, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. The vote is ready to be cast and it's not looking good for Mrs. Stanner. There's nothing you can do to change our minds. The morality clause is airtight and she knew that coming into this job."

Harrison nodded, "I understand that, gentlemen. It's why I'm here. The morality clause is very important, which is why I think it's important you have all of the facts on all of you." He pointed around the table. "I mean, if Mrs. Stanner is up for removal based on the clause, then it may be time to clean house. Am I right?" The room was silent, "Or all you all confident enough that I don't have your deepest, darkest, most immoral secrets in these two boxes?" He asked.

SCANDAL

"Livie? Is that you?" Fitz stepped out of the bathroom, boxers hanging low on his hips.

Olivia let out a jaw-cracking yawn, "Yeah. No more jobs that keep me stuck at someone else's home for the night. Or multiple nights." She corrected, crossing over to him. "I'm so tired." She murmured. "Thanks for handling Cyrus. I don't think I had it in me."

Fitz frowned and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, "Of course you did. You always do. Good job with Stanner by the way." He complimented. "And David has started looking into the Justices on Quinn's list. We'll have a new one by tomorrow."

Olivia nodded, "Good. Randall was a bad pick on my part anyhow." She pulled away and settled onto the bed, curling up in a small ball.

"You don't feel well?" Fitz asked.

"Nauseous and tired and I don't even know what else." She admitted softly.

Fitz sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead before leaning down to press a kiss at her brow. Standing, he reached over to tug off her shoes, "Maybe you're getting sick. Any other symptoms?" He asked.

She bit her lip and thought about it. A moment later she shot up, "Fitz?" He tossed her shoes onto a chair and nodded, "Do we have another pregnancy test in the bathroom?"

He shrugged, "Not sure, why?"

"Because I think I may be pregnant after all." She admitted slowly, cringing at the thought of the wine she'd had with Sarah Stanner. "I just think it may have been too soon. Maybe it'll show up now?"

He grinned and held out his hand, "No way to know unless we try." He tugged her into the bathroom.

Two minutes later they were staring down at a plus sign on a white stick.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Sixteen: Shake It Out**

 _Our love is questioned such a mournful sound_

 _Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground_

 _So I like to keep my issues drawn_

 _But it's always darkest before the dawn_

 _Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, whoa_

 _Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, whoa_

 _And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back_

 _So shake him off, whoa_

 _\- "Shake It Out" Florence + the Machine_

* * *

 _Six Months Later_

"We're doing what?" Fitz asked sharply, looking up from his report.

"A gala. For your birthday." Cyrus repeated, standing over the Resolute Desk, a stack of papers in hand.

Fitz's eyes narrowed in on those papers before shooting his steely gaze up at his Chief of Staff, "Cyrus Rutherford Beene, I am _not_ wasting money on a gala for my birthday of all things. I just want a quiet night in the Residence with friends and family. Don't worry, you don't need to throw a gala to be included. You're both friend and family."

Cyrus crossed his arms, "Unfortunately, yes you are having a gala. Two and a half weeks from now. On Friday night you're having a small get together at the Residence and then on Saturday you're having a gala. No arguments from you or Liv. Your entire team has agreed that we could use a little boost in the poll numbers. This could do it. You and Olivia have been holed up the past few months and the people want to see you."

Fitz let out a long moan, "We've been holed up because we don't want to be seen. Olivia is pregnant and she's not feeling well." Fitz reminded Cyrus.

"Yes, she's pregnant with America's Baby." Cyrus quipped.

Fitz let out a long groan, "Do not get started on that. We're pregnant with _our_ baby. America was not in the shower that morning."

Cyrus was shaking his head and scrunching up his nose, "Gross, I don't want to know where or how you two get it on."

"Well then, maybe you shouldn't call our baby America's Baby." Fitz snapped, "Now, there will be no gala." He repeated.

"You're the First Couple. You don't have a choice. We all have to do things we don't want to do sometimes. Now, suck it up. Here's the guest list we've put together. You and Liv can add to it." He a stapled set of pages down. "And here's my list for the Residence. You can add if you feel the need to, but I think I've got it down." He turned, "And there's no backing out of this Fitzgerald, so don't even think about it."

SCANDAL

"You know," Olivia slipped the diamond studs out of her ears, "I don't usually dislike Cyrus quite this much. A gala? Really?" She muttered.

Fitz rolled onto his side and watched as she tugged his Navy t-shirt over her head, "You still not feeling well?" He asked softly. This pregnancy had been harder than her other two. Her emotions had been all over the place, she'd been nauseous and tired. It made him nervous, even though the doctor said every pregnancy was different and she was just fine.

Olivia sighed and crawled onto their bed, tucking herself into his side, "I'm being a crummy wife and a lousy First Lady." She admitted. "The dinner at the Residence will be fun. It'll be people like Harrison and Alexandra and Quinn and Huck and Mellie and Stephen and Abby and David. It'll really just be our family. I did rope Cy into excluding a few people and just making it us and some of the White House staff. Like Brenda and Mark and Lauren and all of them."

Fitz's hand ran soothingly up and down her back in slow rhythmic pattern. "We still can pull the gala. We've got two weeks." He pointed out.

She shook her head, "No, Cyrus is right. We need to be out in the world more. America wants to know more about our baby." Her face scrunched up and she slipped a hand protectively over her stomach, "Whatever that means."

"I don't like the sound of America's Baby. America isn't having a baby. _We_ are." Fitz grumbled.

Olivia sighed, "I guess this is what we signed up for." She admitted softly. "There's nothing we can do about the talking heads. They'll say what they want to say no matter what." She pointed out. "We may as well go out there and smile for one night. Then you can come back here and spend the rest of the weekend with Kare and Jer. How does that sound?"

He pressed a kiss to her temple, "I like the sound of it."

SCANDAL

 _Two Weeks Later_

Olivia tugged the zipper up the side of her deep purple gown. She forced herself to stop gnawing on her lower lip as she worried. Her gut was just screaming that something bad was going to happen tonight. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was. She'd had Tom and Hal triple security. Huck went over everything with them. Quinn double checked the cameras. David did background checks _again_ on all of the guests. No one could find anything, yet something was definitely going to go wrong.

"You look beautiful, Livie." Fitz's arms wrapped around her waist, his hands skimming her belly. "You're so stunning."

She leaned back into him, a soft smile playing across her lips, "I love you." She murmured, "You know that, right?"

He caught her gaze in the mirror, "Of course I know that. I love you too, more than you can even begin to imagine." His lips brushed her ear, "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

She hummed, "That goes both ways, Mr. President." She turned in his arms, her hands automatically raising to straighten out his wayward bow tie, "So, are you ready to go celebrate you getting old?"

He snorted, "Wow, that's really not a nice thing to say to your husband of six and a half years."

She grinned and reached up on her toes, pressing a kiss to his lips, "Sorry. Maybe when we've been married for seven years I'll be nicer to you." She teased.

He rolled his eyes and slipped his hand into hers, tugging her towards the door. "Come on, the faster we get there the faster I can get you home and naked."

"And again with the pregnant wife fetish." She shook her head.

"I just like watching you waddle." He snarked back. Picking up her matching wrap and her clutch, Olivia laughed, allowing him to tuck her more firmly into his side.

SCANDAL

"So the kids are safely at home with Gabriella." Olivia tucked her phone into her purse and zipped it shut.

"Everything is going to be fine, Liv." Fitz wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I wish you could explain why you're so worried." He murmured.

She shook her head and blinked back tears from her overly charged hormones, "I don't know why, Fitz. It's just my gut. It's been in knots for _weeks_ now."

He sighed and took her hand in his, his fingers skimming over her wedding set, "When this is over, Liv, you're going back to the doctor. We're going to see if maybe there's something you can take for anxiety or something. Maybe an herbal tea?" He suggested, "Just something to calm you down. You haven't even been able to focus on work this past month. You're starting to scare me."

She sighed and nuzzled her head into his neck, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to. And you've got enough on your plate without me." She pointed out. "I just wish we could turn the car around."

Fitz nodded in agreement, "Me too, but as Cyrus said, we all have to do things we don't want to. At least this will earn us brownie points." He pointed out.

Olivia snickered, "Maybe we should send Cyrus on vacation so we can have a vacation."

Fitz nodded in agreement as the limo came to a stop. "Ready?" He asked. Olivia nodded and they both tapped on their windows, indicating the doors could be opened.

It all happened so fast. Olivia barely had time to register what was happening. One second she had plastered on the smile she shows the world, reaching for her husband's hand and the next he's being jerked back from her.

When she spun to face him, she felt a burn in her arm before Tom landed on top of her, forcing her to the ground.

It was like everything happened in slow motion. A series of shots rang out and when she looked up, she was faced with the sight of Hal struggling to keep both himself and Fitz upright as he pulled Fitz back into the limo.

SCANDAL

She didn't realize she was screaming until Harrison had her in his arms, her head pressed against his chest. That's when she heard herself and she immediately quieted.

"Get us to the hospital. Now." Harrison ordered.

He, Alexandra, Huck, Quinn, David and Abby had been in the car behind them. Just behind their car had been Mellie, Stephen, Cyrus and James. Their car had immediately been redirected out of the traffic and pointed towards James Madison Hospital.

"It's going to be okay, Liv." Abby reached over and clutched her hand tightly, "It's going to be okay."

SCANDAL

" _I have just received word that shots have indeed been fired at the President's Birthday Gala." The reporter paused, "Wait, I'm receiving confirmation that the President has not been shot, what?" He paused again, pressing his finger to his earbud, "The President_ has _been shot?" He asked. Swallowing hard, he straightened, "I have just received confirmation that President Fitzgerald Grant has been shot."_

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Seventeen: Temporary Home**

 _This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong_

 _Windows and rooms that I'm passing through_

 _This was just a stop on the way to where I'm going_

 _I'm not afraid because I know, this was my temporary home_

 _This is our temporary home_

" _Temporary Home" Carrie Underwood_

* * *

" _This is Reed Wallace with BNC," the anchor swallowed hard, "and we will be with you all night. It was just an hour ago that President Fitzgerald Grant was shot entering his birthday gala at the Met." His eyes fell to the sheet in front of him, "We have been told that the First Lady, Olivia Grant was also shot, along with Hal Rimbeau, a secret service agent, and Brenda Kagen, the White House Press Secretary. We are still waiting on updates on all the victims of the shooting."_

SCANDAL

Olivia let out another sob, shaking violently from her chair in a guarded hospital room. There was a doctor sitting across from her, numbing her arm to remove the bullet, "Mrs. Grant," Dr. Sloan gave her a calming smile, "I need you to sit still, your arm will be numb, so you shouldn't feel a thing." He held her arm firmly, but gently, "Please, you have to let me get this bullet out."

She stared down at him, her eyes wide, "My husband is"

"In surgery with our best surgeon. Dr. Shepherd will take care of him. I promise." He assured her. "Now, please let me take care of you. This is just a flesh wound. I'll put your arm in a sling though, to help keep the stitches from pulling." He continued in the calmest voice he could muster. "Okay?"

Olivia swallowed hard, "Okay." She paused, "My kids. Are they safe?"

Dr. Mark Sloan set the small scalpel down, "Okay, I'm going to find one of the agents and get you an update. Okay?" He murmured softly. She nodded in response. He was glad she was calming down. If she couldn't sit still, there was a chance she'd have a scar, and he didn't want to be the one to give the First Lady of the United States a scar.

When he returned with Tom, the agent got down on his haunches, "Hey, Jerry and Karen are alright." He promised her. "They're in the waiting room, we've got agents all over the place. Eleanor is there, so are Abby, David, Quinn, Huck, Harrison, Alexandra, Mellie and Stephen. Huck and Quinn are going over security footage. Mark, Scott and James are there as well. James is prepared to pounce on the press if he needs to."

Olivia swallowed, "Where is Brenda?"

Tom squeezed her other hand and gave a slight nod to Dr. Sloan to begin removing the bullet. "She's in surgery. She was shot twice in the chest." Olivia let out a small sob, "Hal was shot in the back. He's in surgery too. Hal should be fine though."

"And Brenda?" Olivia asked softly.

Tom squeezed her hand harder, "That's still up in the air. She's in surgery with Dr. Burke." He paused, "The whole hospital is working hard to make sure everyone walks out of here in one piece."

"I want to see my kids." Olivia told him.

"Not yet," Tom looked up when the door opened and Abby appeared, a cup of tea in her hand, "not until Dr. Sloan is done." He motioned for Abby to come in. "I think Abby is here with some tea."

Olivia looked over her shoulder, "Abby?"

Abby pulled up a chair next to Olivia and Tom, "We're looking into it." She promised her friend, "We'll find who did this."

"It's not who did this." Olivia squeezed Tom's hand harder, "It's who paid for it."

SCANDAL

" _We're still with you. Again, it's been three hours since the shooting at President Grant's birthday gala. We have been informed that Secret Service Agent Hal Rimbeau is out of surgery after taking a bullet for the president. He is in recovery. First Lady Olivia Grant has also been released. She took one bullet to the upper arm, she and the baby are both fine. Press Secretary Brenda Kagen is still in surgery, her condition is unknown. She was shot twice in the chest. President Grant, who was shot three times, is also still in surgery. According to a spokesperson for the White House, his condition is listed as critical."_

SCANDAL

Cyrus paced around an empty hospital room, "What do you mean she commandeered the helicopter?" He snapped into his phone. "She's doing what?" He yelled. Fumbling with a drawer, he found the remote for the television and flicked it on, "You let her land the fucking helicopter on the South Lawn!" He hung up the phone and stormed into the waiting room.

"Cyrus?" Olivia asked quietly.

Cyrus took a calming breath when his eyes landed on Jerry's sleeping form cradled on Olivia's lap and Karen sleeping in a play pen that had been brought in, "Sally, she took the helicopter that was supposed to take her to a secure location and landed it on the South Lawn."

Olivia's mouth dropped open and then snapped shut, "You have to get to the White House. If you don't she could wind up killed!" She whispered loudly, "Take David with you. Take scary marines with you. Take anyone you need, just get her out of there." She paused, "Who all"

"The press is already all over it." Cyrus told her.

Olivia pressed her head in her hands, "Cy, right now, I'm going to need you to handle it." She paused, and thought, "Have someone pack up some things for me. I'll pull myself together and I'll figure something out."

Huck stood up, "I need to look into something," he jerked his untied bow tie off of his collar, "I think I know where the shooter was."

"Whatever you need." Tom nodded, "I'll send agents with you."

"I'm coming with you." Quinn stood up.

Huck looked at her dress, "You need clothes."

Mellie stood up, "I'll go to the White House. We all have clothes there." She commented, "I'll pack up some things and bring them back. I'll make sure the staff is okay, too." She offered.

Olivia squeezed her hand, "Thank you, Mellie."

Mellie nodded and pressed a kiss to Jerry's head. "I'll be back in an hour."

Huck nodded, "Lock down the hotel across the street. The W." He ordered. "I could use Quinn's eyes." He glanced over at his son, Javi, "You'll watch him?"

Eleanor looked over at the baby in the play pen with Karen sleeping soundly, "Of course." She responded.

"I want an update on Fitz and Brenda." Olivia snapped suddenly. "It's been thirty minutes and we haven't heard anything. I need something. Now."

Cyrus nodded, "I'll get someone to give you an update, Mellie, you're with me." He motioned to the attorney.

SCANDAL

" _We have received word on Brenda Kagen's condition. She is still in surgery, it is listed as critical. There have been no updates on the President. We have received word that Vice President Sally Langston has landed her helicopter on the South Lawn."_

SCANDAL

"I need an update on President Grant's condition and then I want an update on the search for the shooter and" Sally Langston looked up from leaning over the Oval Office. "Mr. Beene, what can I do for you?"

Cyrus tried to take a breath, "You can't be here!" He screamed, "You are supposed to be at a secure location and"

"The people need to see me, Cyrus." Sally drawled. "They need to know that the country is safe, that someone is leading them. I am here to lead them. It is my job. It is my calling."

"Which will be pointless when you've been shot!" Cyrus screeched. "Now, there are a bunch of marines here and they will throw you over their damn shoulder if they need to and take you to a safe place."

"They work for me and they will do no such thing." Sally straightened.

"They don't work for you." Cyrus stepped further into the office, "They work for the President, and you," he pointed to her, "you are not the President of the United States."

Sally took a breath and tried not to balk at Cyrus's condescending words, "The President of the United States is in surgery. He may or not make it out alive and the nation needs to know that there is someone here to lead them. I am not leaving."

Cyrus rolled his eyes and spun, "Get her out of here." He ordered the marines by his side.

SCANDAL

" _Good evening, America, I come to you tonight with great sorrow in my heart. As you all are aware, President Grant was shot at his birthday gala last evening. While he is still in surgery, I am here to tell you, that you are not alone. I am here. I am here and stepping up to lead this nation in our time of need. My prayers are with President and Mrs. Grant and their family. They are with Brenda Kagen, who is now out of surgery, but still listed in critical condition. I can promise you, America, that we will find those responsible for this horrible tragedy and we will bring them to justice. Good night and God bless America."_

" _That was Vice President Sally Langston coming from the Oval Office. Earlier this morning she landed on the South Lawn, it seems she has now taken over the duties of the White House as we await the outcome President Grant's surgery."_

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Eighteen: Sympathy**

 _And stranger than your sympathy, and all these thoughts you stole from me_

 _And I'm not sure where I belong, and nowhere's home and no more wrong_

 _And I was in love with all the things I tried to make you believe I was_

 _And I wouldn't be the one to kneel before the dreams I wanted_

 _And all the dark and all the lies were all the empty things disguised as me_

 _Yeah, stranger than your sympathy_

 _Stranger than your sympathy, mhm_

" _Sympathy" Goo Goo Dolls_

* * *

" _We're still with you following the shooting at President Grant's birthday gala last night. White House Press Secretary Brenda Kagen is currently in ICU and her condition is described as critical, but stable. President Grant is out of surgery, his condition has only been described as critical. No news yet on if he is awake."_

SCANDAL

Olivia tugged on the Navy sweatshirt Mellie had brought her. Chewing on her lower lip, she pulled a chair up next to Fitz's bed, "Hey, sweet baby," she murmured, "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I'm here. We're all here. Well, Cyrus is actually yelling at Sally and Huck and Quinn are with some agents looking into the shooter." She amended. "The kids are here though. Jer's still asleep, but when he wakes up, well, knowing him he'll demand to see you." Reaching up, she smoothed back some of his hair, her fingers brushing over the absurd bandage on his forehead, "I'm going to need you to do something for me, Fitz. I'm going to need you to come back to me. I don't care if you're president or not, I just want you to come back to me. We haven't even had ten years together. And we've got our third monster on the way. The four of us can't lose you. And I know you don't want to leave us. So I'm going to need you to wake up."

A knock at the door sounded and she turned, "Liv?" Harrison stood in the doorway, "Huck and Quinn are back. They've got something."

Olivia nodded and stood, brushing a kiss over his forehead, "Love you." She murmured. Wiping her tears with the hem of his sweatshirt, she followed Harrison down the hall, "What do they have?"

"Huck went over the scene and determined it was someone like him. It had to be. So he put a call out on the radio thing. Remember when we had all the spies with us?" Harrison rambled on. Olivia just nodded, so he continued, "Charlie called Huck. He's here, don't worry, he's been patted down and everything. Anyhow, he heard a rumor on the street that a former agent was just hired for a high profile shooting that was supposed to happen last night. Last night the only high profile shooting was Fitz. The only other shootings around the country were gang related, domestic violence and a couple accidentals. Nothing major, nothing uncommon." Harrison continued. "Charlie has volunteered to help Huck and Quinn out."

"For a price." Olivia surmised.

"Mellie said she's going to force him into a contract." Harrison chuckled. "She and Stephen are working on it." He paused, "Abby headed to the White House to check on David and see if she can help with Sally. She's also volunteered to take on the press corps. Cyrus has taken her up on the offer. He managed to override Sally on that magically." He continued his update.

Olivia nodded, "What's going on with Sally?" She asked.

"She's making her play to the Oval. Officially. She's heard Fitz is in a coma. She's gone to the joint chiefs to get signatures allowing her to take office. She should have them by the end of the day."

Olivia let out a low growl, "Damn that woman." She muttered, "Okay, we'll handle that. I just need to think about the next move. Let me talk to Charlie first." She requested. She pushed her way around Harrison and into the waiting room. Charlie stood as soon as he saw her. "Charlie, nice to see you again."

Charlie held out his hand, eyeing the outfit she was wearing: her husband's oversized sweatshirt, her leggings and her penny loafers. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and she looked vaguely absurd with a sling on her left arm. She didn't look to be the fierce fixer and elegant First Lady, but he could see the determination in her eyes. "You too, Mrs. Grant. I was just telling Huck and Quinn that I think I know who's behind this, but I want"

"You'll be compensated. Spill before I let Huck make you talk." She ordered sharply.

Charlie eyed Huck, aware of what he was capable of since he'd trained him, "Her name's Becky. No last name. We don't usually have them." He shrugged, "Anyhow, she took a big job. I heard the funding came from Swiss accounts." He told her, "It's odd, but there have been rumors about some hit orders coming out of the federal prison." He shrugged again, "Just something else for us to look into."

Olivia's eyes narrowed, "The federal prison?" She repeated.

Huck slammed his hand against the table top, "How did we not consider Doyle after we turned him in for election fraud?"

"Reston could be behind it too." Quinn piped up. "I think we need to get ahold of his communications."

Mellie pulled out her phone, "I'll get a warrant." She offered, dialing a number and moving off to the corner of the room.

"What?" Olivia answered her cell phone sharply.

" _I know you're looking into the shooter and that's important, but Liv, Sally only needs three more signatures." Cyrus's panicked voice echoed through her cell phone. "We're about to be kicked out."_

"Damn it." Olivia muttered hanging up, "Okay, I need to start prioritizing and delegating." She decided. "Tom, you and Mellie are going to get us those records from the jail." She turned to Stephen, "Get me Doyle's financials. Huck, Charlie, Quinn, find Becky. Use whoever you need. Just get her in custody." She paused, "Eleanor, will you stay here with the kids?"

"Of course, Olivia." Eleanor murmured, her face still clouded.

"Harrison, get me a press conference in front of the hospital." She dialed a number on her phone, "Abby, I need you to get back to the hospital with clothes for me that are appropriate for a press conference. I don't care what, just get it here fast. I want Cyrus to hold off Sally as long as he can." She hung up without waiting for a response. "All cylinders people."

SCANDAL

Olivia swallowed hard as she stood on the lawn in front of James Madison Hospital thirty minutes later. "Thank you all for coming." She gave them a tight smile. "I know there have been lots of rumors swirling around regarding the health of those who were injured in the shooting at Fitz's birthday gala." She paused, "I want to start by thanking everyone for their prayers and positive thoughts. The baby and I are doing just fine." She rested her hands on her belly and glanced down. "I want to thank Hal Rimbeau, who was shot in the line of duty, protecting my husband. Hal is thankfully out of surgery and in recovery. I also want to send thoughts and prayers to Brenda Kagen and her family. Brenda is a beloved staff member of my husband's administration. She has been with us since the Trail. Her condition is still critical." Olivia took a deep breath, "On behalf of my family and our friends, I want to thank everyone for their support during this time. Fitz is out of surgery and in recovery." She told everyone. "I want to assure the American people that they do still have a president, a living, breathing president. His name is Fitzgerald Grant. Fitz has never given up on you, so please, don't give up on him." She nodded, "Thank you, and God bless America."

She stepped away from the podium, ignoring the questions flying her way. Clutching her stomach, she allowed herself to be dwarfed by SSAs and Harrison as she made her way back inside.

"You did great, Liv." Harrison told her, "Now, Jer and Eleanor are in there with Fitz. Why don't you join them. The rest of us have Karen and Javi." He motioned to Gabriella, the White House nanny, and Alexandra, both of whom was on the floor rolling around with the babies.

Olivia pressed a kiss to Harrison's cheek. "Thank you." She murmured softly.

SCANDAL

Mellie and Stephen took over an empty hospital room on Fitz's floor for some quiet as they poured over Doyle's financials and communications from the jail. Reston had been a bust, but there were two numbers Doyle was consistently calling who were not related to his council. "Look at this," Stephen motioned to a number, "this transfer of money, why can't we find where it went to?" He asked in aggravation.

Mellie leaned back, tugging her sweater more firmly around her body to ward off the chill in the room, "If we knew who Becky really was that would help tremendously. I bet you anything Doyle paid to have Fitz killed."

"Well, he's been taken into solitary and he's being interviewed by those secret military people who live under the Pentagon." Stephen sighed, "He's not trained, maybe they can break him?"

Mellie reached over and wrapped her hand around Stephen's, "He's going to wake up, right?" She asked quietly, "This can't, I mean he won't," she sighed, "he'll survive this?"

Stephen squeezed her fingers tightly, "I hope so."

SCANDAL

" _At 8:37pm EST tonight, Vice President Sally Langston became the first female president of the United States of America, being sworn into office in the middle of the Oval. If President Grant does not make it, things will happen very quickly for Olivia Grant. Jackie Kennedy was discussing housekeeping items with Lady Bird Johnson just days after her husband was shot."_

The television flicked off and the older woman took a sip of her scotch. If everything went to plan she would find herself on that bench. After all, she had just the right amount of leverage. The name of the shooter and the man who funded it.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	19. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 **Chapter Nineteen: So Small**

 _It's so easy to get lost inside a problem that seems so big at the time_

 _It's like a river that's so wide, it swallows you whole_

 _While you sit around thinking about what you can't change_

 _And worrying about all the wrong things_

 _Time's flying by, moving so fast_

 _You better make it count cause you can't get it back_

 _Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand_

 _What you've been up there searching for is in your hands_

 _When you figure out love is all that matters after all_

 _It sure makes everything else seem so small_

" _So Small" Carrie Underwood_

* * *

"Do you think he'll wake up?" Olivia asked Dr. Shepherd as she sat next to Fitz's bed, her hand clasped over his.

Derek Shepherd pulled up a chair next to the First Lady, "Mrs. Grant, I honestly don't know. It's a miracle that he's alive." He told her bluntly, "All we can do is monitor him and hope." He hesitated, "And if he does wake up, he may"

"I know what the risks are. I know what the outcome may be. I'm prepared to deal with that, I just can't," she chewed on her lip, "losing him altogether," she shook her head, "I need him to wake up, Dr. Shepherd."

The dark haired man nodded, reaching over to pat her hand, "We're doing everything we can, Mrs. Grant."

She gave a slight nod of assent at his words, "Thank you."

Cyrus was settled on the floor of the waiting room allowing Karen to crawl over him when Olivia came back in with Dr. Shepherd's update. "There's nothing. No news." She sighed. "Stop pouting."

"I've been fired. Fired." He grumbled. He sighed, "Look, Liv, I know all of your things are in the Residence, but why don't you and the kids and Eleanor come stay with James and me for a bit. We could all use the company. We've got more than enough room. Everyone can come."

Olivia scooped up Javi and nodded, "Yeah, I like that. Where is Jer?"

"Eleanor took him down to the cafeteria to get ice cream. Abby and James went too. They've been kicked out of the White House. Oh, and Mark and Scott are with Harrison, Mellie and Stephen down the hall. The two of them are refusing to go back to work."

Olivia shook her head, "They'll get fired and"

"And Brenda is still in ICU and Fitz is their president and friend. They're not going anywhere. One of the doctors stopped by to say Hal should be released today though. He's got at least 9 months of physical therapy ahead of him before he's cleared for active duty, but once Fitz is up and running we can give him desk work if he wants to come in."

"And knowing Hal, he will." Olivia agreed. "Any news from Quinn, Huck or Charlie?"

Cyrus shook his head, "No, Tom flew out to Texas. They think they tracked Becky down, but there's still no update. Also, it looks like Doyle was talking to someone in DC with a burner phone. Mark thinks he can track it."

Olivia sighed and slid down to the floor next to Cyrus, adjusting Javi against her shoulder, "Cy, he may never wake up."

Cyrus shook his head, "No, don't you dare, Olivia. You are the love of his life. He calls you the love of his life. You are not allowed to give up on him _ever_. He's your other half. You don't give up on your other half. I don't ever want to hear those words come out of your mouth again. Now, Huck, Quinn, Charlie and Tom will track down Becky. We will nail Hollis. Fitz will wake up. Sally will be demoted to Vice President again. Everything will be alright. This is you and Fitz. Nothing can break the two of you up. Big Jerry couldn't do it. The media couldn't do it. Doyle and the threat of Defiance couldn't do it. No one can. You two are meant to be. You're supposed to be together for forever. Trust me, I know. I was a part of the group _trying_ to break you up." He reminded her. "It's impossible."

Olivia reached over and grasped his hand, "I hope you're right."

SCANDAL

Verna Thornton waltzed into the Oval Office like she owned it. And in just a few moments, she truly would. President Sally Langston would fall at her feet, praise God that Verna was alive, and she'd put her on that bench first chance she got. Sally's brow arched when Verna shut the door with a small bang, "Ms. Thornton, what can I do for you."

"Good afternoon Madam President," Verna gave the woman a sickly sweet smile, "I believe I have some information you may be interested in." She waved a file in the air.

Sally rolled her eyes, "I highly doubt that."

"Not even the name of the shooter and the person who authorized the hit on President Grant?" Verna taunted. At Sally's dubious look, she shrugged, "I've been doing a bit of my own research." She lied cleanly, dropping the file on top of the Resolute Desk.

Sally stared at it for a moment before opening it. She was immediately faced with a booking picture of Hollis Doyle. Her eyes shot up, "Have a seat, Ms. Thornton."

SCANDAL

Mark came sprinting out onto the back patio that evening, "I got it, I got it, I got it!" He cried out, "I know who bought the phone. I know who it is. She went through a lot of people. She didn't actually buy the phone herself, but I found the guy and"

"And he sang like a canary." Scott was grinning from ear to ear, rubbing his hands together. "Hey, Liv, we may have to leave the White House and come gladiate for you." He plopped down, "Well, Mark, should you tell them or should I?"

Mark leaned over, placing a file on Olivia's lap, "The real person behind everything."

Olivia opened it. _Verna Thornton._

SCANDAL

"She spent the entire day with the Vice President Langston," Lauren told Mark in a hushed tone. "They're in there now." She motioned to the door, "Do you really have enough to arrest her?"

David nodded coming up behind them with very scary looking men who were ready to pounce to take out Fitz's attempted murderers, "We have enough to hold her for questioning. We've got Doyle down there. He's gotten a bit chatty today. He already named dropped Becky. He should throw Verna under the bus soon, too." He nodded to the marines, "Open the door, take her into custody." He ordered. He held his head up high as the doors were pushed open against Sally's will and Verna was dragged to her feet, "Verna Thornton, you are under arrest for the attempted assassination of President Fitzgerald Grant," he began.

SCANDAL

David stood in a room below the Pentagon, "She had the location of Becky. She and Sally were getting ready to present it to the joint chiefs to have her arrested. You guys were right, she's in Texas hiding out, you should have back up within the hour. Be careful." He ordered Huck.

" _You got it. Great work over there." Huck complimented._

"You too. Call me when it's over." David ordered.

SCANDAL

Olivia wanted to feel at peace with the news that Becky had been arrested and was being transported back to DC. She wanted to feel at peace that Verna, Becky and Hollis were all facing the Patriot Act. She just couldn't though.

Fitz still wasn't awake.

She paced in circles around the dining room table in James and Cyrus's house, twirling a stray piece of hair around her pointer finger. She knew she should be positive, but it had been so long. It had been too long. The longer he wasn't awake, the more likely it was that he would never wake up. The more likely it was that she would lose him altogether.

She wasn't sure she was strong enough to come back from that.

SCANDAL

 _1:34am_

"What?" Olivia asked, trying to get comfortable after being pulled from sleep.

" _Mrs. Grant?" She made a grunt of acknowledgment, "This is Chief Richard Webber at James Madison."_

She shot up in bed, fumbling for the bedside lamp, "What happened?"

" _There's someone who wants to speak to you." He sounded excited, happy even and she couldn't imagine why._

"What? Who? What's going on?" Olivia prattled off, but the Chief was already gone.

" _Hi."_

Olivia's mouth fell open at the raspy voice on the other end of the line. "Hi." She finally repeated.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	20. Chapter 20

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 _ **AN: This is kind of a bonus chapter. I didn't really plan on following this line at all, but then almost tacked some of it onto the last chapter before just deciding to write an entire chapter, on this. Enjoy! ~ XOXO MAS**_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty: Fight Song**

 _Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep, everybody's worried about me_

 _In too deep, say I'm in too deep_

 _And it's been two years, I miss my home, but there's a fire burning in my bones_

 _Still believe, yeah, I still believe_

 _And all those things I didn't say, wrecking balls inside my brain_

 _I will scream them loud tonight, can you hear my voice this time_

 _This is my fight song, take back my life song, prove I'm alright song_

 _My power's turned on, starting right now I'll be strong_

 _I'll play my fight song and I don't really care if nobody else believes_

 _Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

" _Fight Song" Rachel Platten_

* * *

 _James Madison Hospital_

Olivia slid down the hallway in her penny loafers, rounding corners so sharply she nearly ran into walls. Throwing the door to his hospital room open, she was greeted with the sight of him slightly raised in his bed, Chief Webber and Dr. Shepherd hovering over him with huge smiles on their faces, "Fitz." She breathed out.

His head turned slightly, "Livie." He murmured.

She was by his side in an instant, "Don't ever scare me like that again." She ordered, pressing her lips to his, her hands cupping his scruffy cheeks. "I love you."

He sighed, his nose lightly nudging against hers, "I love you, too, sweet baby." He whispered back.

"We'll give the two of you a moment and then we can give you both an update." Dr. Shepherd offered, "Oh, and Brenda Kagen was moved out of ICU tonight to a regular room just down the hall. It's good news all around it seems." He smacked the chief's arm and led the way out of the room.

Carefully, Olivia perched herself on the edge of his bed, "Thank God you're alright." She murmured against his temple.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her closer to him, "I didn't mean to scare you."

She chuckled, "Not your fault. Verna Thornton and Hollis Doyle hired a woman named Becky. They're all in custody." She replied, "No more threats."

"And Sally?" Fitz asked.

Olivia snorted, "Will hopefully be booted from office in the next few weeks."

"She's in my office?" Fitz tried to sit up, but Olivia pushed him back down, "You know you can't exert yourself too much. She was just doing her job."

"She's vice president. I'm the president." He argued.

Olivia chuckled, "Okay, well, we'll handle that shortly. For now, let's get an update from the doctor and then I know a lot of people who will want to see you."

Fitz didn't seem placated by her answer, but he nodded, allowing her to slither off the bed to find the doctors. They spent the next fifteen minutes going over the what ifs. According to Dr. Shepherd, it was nothing short of a miracle that woke him and he had no way of predicting what side effects he could possibly be facing.

Two hours later, the entire group showed up with balloons, a bottle of scotch (courtesy of Cyrus) and the kids. Lauren was even with them. With Jer tucked into his father's side and Karen in his arms, Fitz felt whole again, "Thank you guys," he looked around the room, Hal had even come back in and Brenda had been wheeled in from down the hall, "and I'm so sorry that you were caught in the crossfire."

"This wasn't your fault, Fitz." Brenda was still on the shaky side, her voice paper thin, but she'd been determined to see everyone.

"She's right." Hal nodded in agreement, "And they won't be able to hurt you again."

Jerry seemed to consider Hal's words carefully, "Could someone _else_ hurt you, daddy?"

Fitz tightened his arm around his son and cleared his throat, "It could happen," he finally stated after a time. There was no way to shelter him from the truth now that he'd already been shot.

"But that's what we're here for." Tom piped up, "We're here to protect everyone."

Jerry's face fell into a concentrated frown, "But I don't want you guys to get hurt either. We're a family."

Olivia leaned over and pressed a kiss to her son's brow, "We are, and hopefully no one else will get hurt."

Jerry didn't look pleased with her response, but finally nodded. "We'll just have to pay really close attention then." He decided. The room all released a simultaneous breath of relief.

SCANDAL

"I want to go back into the Oval Office. And I want to go now." Fitz demanded.

Olivia's eyes narrowed, "Fitz, you haven't even been awake for twenty-four hours." She protested, "The hospital hasn't even announced it to the media yet. There's no way in hell you're marching into the Oval _just_ to kick Sally out."

"If I don't she may try to" he started to protest.

Olivia sighed and leaned over him, "Let me tell you something, Fitz, she won't be able to take your job away from you. Let's just focus on getting you better. The rest will come, I promise." She picked up a sat phone, "Now, first things first, how about we call her and tell her you're awake." She suggested.

SCANDAL

Sally tapped her fingers against the Resolute Desk angrily. She'd been hearing rumors that Fitzgerald Grant was awake. And no one had told her. Apparently the entire group had been spotted at the hospital in the early hours of the morning. And Lauren was late to work herself, a pleased smile on her face. She scowled. Olivia Grant's first call after she found out (if she found out and this wasn't just some play for the media), should've been to call her.

Sally's hands stopped moving. That's just it. It was a play for the media. There was no way he was coming out of this alive anyhow. And particularly no intact. This was Olivia Grant's way of weaseling herself into the Oval. She slammed her palm down on the desk. First, the woman undermined her chance to apprehend the people responsible for the assassination attempt, now she was trying to take her job.

Pressing the speaker on the phone, Sally ordered, "Lauren, get all of the chiefs of staff in my office in the next hour."

After a moment of hesitance, Lauren responded, "Yes, ma'am." Sally tried to push the fact that Lauren had never addressed her by her new and proper title to the back of her mind.

Chewing on her lip, Lauren stared at the phone for thirty seconds before snatching up her cell phone and shooting off a text to the entire group. She had a feeling she knew what Sally was up to, and she had a feeling that _seeing_ Fitz may be the only way to stop it.

SCANDAL

Olivia was going to kill Sally. She nearly dropped the sat phone she was getting ready to dial when she saw the text come in from Lauren. "That infuriating woman thinks that we're pretending you're awake in an effort to boot her from office."

Fitz sighed, "I knew we were going to have to pry her cold, dead hands away from my desk." He pushed himself more fully up, "Get me clothes. I'm not speaking to her over the phone. I'm going in. If she hears my voice and my assurance that I'm going to be okay, she still will push that I'm not medically ready to be back. She'll keep me out as long as she can. And she'll use the fact that she wasn't immediately let into the loop that I was awake against us. Get me clothes." He repeated.

Olivia was already shaking her head, gently pushing him back down. "No way, Fitz." She protested, "We'll make a phone call and then I'll handle Sally and"

"Olivia," Fitz's voice was steadier than she thought it could be, "it's my job she's trying to take away. The American people elected me. I'm going in. I'm going in today. I want to interrupt that meeting. Get me clothes."

Sighing, Olivia finally nodded. She knew there was no point in arguing when he was like this. She texted Lauren back requesting clothes and updates on when the meeting was taking place. Fitz was interrupting it.

SCANDAL

Sally sat with her back to the door of the Oval and the joint chiefs around her, "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I just wanted to share some concerns regarding President Grant's condition that I have in person."

"President Grant is still in a coma, correct?" One asked.

"I actually heard rumors that he woke up last night." Another replied, "Though no one has been contacted and" his eyes landed on the door. Immediately they all stood.

Sally frowned and looked over her shoulder. Leaning in the doorway stood Fitzgerald Grant, "Good evening everyone."

Thirty minutes later, with the members of his administration gone and Sally out the door with her tail tucked between her legs, Fitz fell into his chair behind the Resolute Desk.

"That was stupid." Olivia's voice came from one of the doors. "And reckless. Your health is more important than your job." She reminded him.

"I just want Sally to know where she stands." He muttered.

Olivia let out a hum of agreement, a small bowl in her hands with water swishing as she crossed the room to perch herself on the edge of his desk, "Close your eyes, baby." She murmured, letting him tip himself back slightly. She brought the damn cloth to his forehead, "You have a fever. You should get some rest and"

"I need to hold a press conference." He interrupted.

She was already shaking her head, "No, now I'm definitely putting my foot down. The last thing I need is you collapsing up there. The doctors are already pissed off that you left. Now, Chief Webber is speaking on your condition tonight. Let him handle it. You can focus on getting better now."

"No, I want to hold a press conference." He repeated.

Olivia dropped the washcloth in the bowl, ignoring some of the water as it splashed on the wooden desk top, "Why?" She asked. He arched a brow at her, "Why is this so important to you?"

Fitz seemed to consider her question for a moment, "Because I want America to know that I'm here for them. That I'll fight for them to the very end." He answered softly.

Olivia sighed, "Fine, I'll have Cyrus set it up." She paused, "At least take a nap while we get things assembled and I get you some fresh clothes?" She requested.

He rocked up, "Deal." He pressed a kiss to her lips before allowing her to help him to the sofa.

SCANDAL

" _President Fitzgerald Grant has returned to the White House. Today he gave a short press conference thanking the American people for their thoughts and prayers. He sent a special thanks out to Secret Service Agent Hal Rimbeau, who is home recovering, to Brenda Kagen, who is in the hospital and expected to be released later this week. He also thanked acting President Sally Langston for stepping up during the nation's time of need. President Grant is expected to take back his office this week."_

SCANDAL

The following morning, Fitz was seated on the sofa in the living room of the Residence, Jerry drawing at his feet while Karen and Javi crawled around. The room was filled with their friends and families when Sally arrived, a piece of paper in her hand. "Good morning." She murmured, nodding to them all, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to deliver this personally." She laid the paper on the coffee table in front of Fitz, "Whenever you are ready to take your job back, please feel free."

Fitz reached forward and picked up her letter, indicating she was stepping down and he could return to his duties. "Thank you, Sally."

"It is a very hard job, being president." She admitted.

He nodded, "It is." He paused and looked over at his concerned wife. "I'll return on Monday." He decided, watching as she visibly relaxed.

Sally nodded, "Very well, Mr. President."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	21. Chapter 21

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 _ **AN: So, I have some rather sad news. . . This is the second to last chapter of True Believers. Or maybe it's just sad for me. I don't know. Anyhow, enjoy! ~ XOXO MAS**_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One: A Real Fine Place to Start**

 _Holding you close, chasing that moon_

 _Spending all night loving just who you are_

 _Sparks flying in the dark_

 _Shooting out lights, running down dreams_

 _Figuring out what love really means_

 _Baby giving you my heart_

 _It's a real fine place to start_

" _A Real Fine Place to Start" Sara Evans_

* * *

 _Two Months Later_

Olivia waddled down the hallway towards the Oval. "Is he in, Lauren?" She asked softly.

Lauren looked up, her eyes landing on Olivia and her very round stomach, "Oh yes, and he'll be happy to see you. He had an argument with one of the generals this morning."

Olivia chuckled, "And he thinks I'm moody." She shook her head and pushed the door to his office open, "Yelling at people who work for you, husband?" She asked archly.

Fitz looked up, grumbling, "Doing what I say is just easier."

"It's no fun, though." She teased, shutting the door behind her.

He grunted, "I swear, I kind of want to go back in time and just shoot all of the leaders who divvied up the Middle East the way they did. I think that caused more problems"

She chuckled and moved to stand behind him, her hands coming down to gently massage his shoulders, "I know, baby, I'd say you'll figure it out, but I'm not sure there's a single person on earth who can." She admitted, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. "Anyhow, you told me to come get you when Jer was getting home from school. You said you wanted to do ice cream with us."

He nodded and turned slightly, bringing her down into his lap. "I do want to do ice cream." His hand gently stroked over her belly, "And how is the little guy feeling?"

Olivia laughed, "Teddy is doing just great." She murmured. "Personally, I'm ready for him to join the rest of us here, but I think he's fairly content to stay inside."

Fitz grinned at her, wiggling his brows comically, "Well, I don't blame him. I personally enjoying being inside too."

Olivia rolled her eyes and snorted, shoving his shoulder, "Fitz, gross, we're talking about our baby and you say that." She shook her head, "Our poor kids. Between the two of us and all the people we have around them, they're going to be quite eccentric."

"Open minded and different." Fitz corrected. "Okay, let's go get that ice cream. If we're not in the kitchen when Jer gets home"

"He'll eat it all himself." Olivia finished. "Good point." She pulled herself up into a standing position and held out her hand, leaning onto his arm slightly when their fingers laced together and pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "Love you." She murmured.

He grinned and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Love you, too."

SCANDAL

They beat Jerry to the kitchen by five minutes. They'd just started pulling out the supplies for sundaes when he, Gabriella and Karen waltzed in. Gabriella set Karen up in her walker and then bid them goodbye, a fond grin on her face as she ruffled Jerry's hair on her way out.

Olivia was spooning a bite of her creation into Fitz's mouth when she let out a grunt and felt water splash over her feet. "Livie? You okay?"

Olivia looked down, "Fitz," she stated quietly, "I think my water just broke."

Fitz's chair screeched against the tile floor as he pushed it back to look down, "It's baby time."

Jerry scrambled down from his chair to look at the floor as well, "Ew, gross." He commented, scrunching up his nose. "What's that?"

Olivia chuckled, "That is Teddy getting ready to join us."

Jerry's blue eyes grew comically wide, "Wait, that really means it's baby time?" Olivia and Fitz nodded and Jerry scrambled over to the walkie talkie he'd given Hal (he was back on desk duty and had been spending quite a bit of time entertaining Jerry who decided he wanted to be a secret service agent when he grew up), "Nighthawk, we have Code Blue!" Jerry shouted into the speaker, "I repeat, Code Blue!"

A moment later static was heard, "Nighthawk here, Ranger, we're sure it's Code Blue?" Hal's deep voice resonated through the speaker.

Jerry was nodding, "Affirmative, Nighthawk, and Code Blue is gross. There's water all over the kitchen floor."

They heard scrambling on the other end, "I'll have the car brought around Ranger, over."

Olivia chuckled and then let out a small grunt, "Yeah, let's hope Nighthawk gets the car here soon."

SCANDAL

Five hours later, Olivia let out a groan of frustration, "He's never going to make an appearance. My water breaking was just a tease!"

Fitz chuckled and squeezed her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, "You and I both know our children are very stubborn. I can't imagine where they get it from. He'll come when he's ready."

"I'm about to ask the doctor to just slice me in two. I'm tired of being pregnant. I don't want to be pregnant anymore today. I just want to have our baby." Fitz chuckled again, but this time he didn't respond.

SCANDAL

" _At 2:17 this morning, the First Couple had their third baby, Theodore Thomas Grant. The First Couple tweeted a picture of the five of them on Olivia Grant's hospital bed, along with a message that thanked America for their well wishes and stated that they were very excited to officially welcome Teddy into their family. The picture shut Twitter down for nearly two hours as it was retweeted over and over again."_

Fitz chuckled as he shut off the television. He turned his gaze on his tired wife who was happily sipping the tea Abby had left with her when she and David stopped by to steal Karen and Jerry and take them to breakfast. She simply smiled and picked up another piece of the chocolate stuffed croissant, popping it into her mouth with a content sigh.

Dragging up a chair, Fitz settled next to her, his hand skimming up her leg that was covered by a soft afghan Eleanor had knitted for her. "Thank you, Livie." He murmured.

Olivia shook her head, "I haven't done anything other than love you." She replied softly, her eyes bright when they landed on him.

He shook his head, "That's more than I ever thought I'd get."

"We're just very blessed, Fitzgerald." Olivia reminded him. "Blessed that we found each other. Blessed that we've managed to stay together. Blessed that we could form this family of misfits. Blessed that we could make that," she motioned to Teddy who was sleeping a few feet away, "and the other two monsters we call children. We're blessed."

Fitz nodded his agreement, "We really, truly are." He agreed.

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


	22. Chapter 22

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal_

 _ **AN: Well, we've come to the end of True Believers. We've also come to the end of this series. This is the very last one... I didn't realize I'd be this sad to say goodbye to this version of these characters. I've grown to love them so much since I started the project with "This" and then with "History in the Making." I do feel, though, like it's the right time to put them to bed. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported all three of these stories. I want to particularly thank the people who take the time to review: jennkyle, noro, reader575, ScandalOlitz4Ever, , Puckleberryfan82, crabapplect, cleo, kkimberly49 (I hope the story at least ended without destroying you completely!), and jazphace. Thank you all so much for everything! ~ XOXO MAS**_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: True Believers**

 _Church bells ringing on our wedding day, climbed in that limo and rode away_

 _Guess you'll always hear some people say, man, they're never gonna make it_

 _We settled in and we settled down, in this quiet little seaside town_

 _You are the rock I built my world around and life will never break it_

 _We are one heartbeat in the darkness, we are one lasting answered prayer_

 _We are one unbroken promise, we are two true believers_

 _It wasn't easy getting here today, sometimes you stumbled or I lost my way_

 _But every roadblock was a chance to say, take my hand I'm here beside you_

 _We worked and made it through the toughest parts_

 _Now everyday is another chance to start_

 _To look around and see that where we are, is where we were trying to get to_

" _True Believers" Darius Rucker_

* * *

 _One Year Later_

Olivia watched with pride as Fitz took the podium next to Sally once again. It had been a tough campaign, much harder than the last one. This time they'd been up against Edison Davis. Not only had that stirred up quite a bit of mud (after all, they'd dated what felt like a million years ago), but Edison was an actual formidable candidate. He was honest to a fault like Fitz, and he would've been damn good at this job.

The American people wanted more of the Grant family though. The public was in love with their three kids and there were hints that a fourth would be well-received. Olivia's hand absently skimmed over her flat stomach. She had a feeling they wouldn't able to keep the news of Grant baby #4 quiet for very long, not that she minded. It wasn't always easy being on a pedestal in the spotlight, but she had Fitz, she had her kids, she had her family. All of that made things much easier. It made sharing Fitz with the rest of world bearable.

She beamed when Fitz finished his acceptance speech to thunderous applause.

SCANDAL

 _Twenty-Five Years Later_

Olivia paced the waiting room slowly, "I'm too damn young for this, Fitzgerald." She muttered.

"Then why are you worrying?" He asked teasingly, folding his newspaper (he'd take print even in the digital age any day).

"Because I'm too old for this." She snapped back at him.

He chuckled, "You know they're doing just fine in there."

"I know that, I did it four times, Anna is fine. Jer is fine. I'm not worried about that. I just, he's so _old_ now!"

"Which makes us like crypt keeper old." Olivia glared at him and he set his paper down, "It's the first grandbaby, Livie, of course you're nervous. And Jer is going to do just fine as a dad. Let's be more afraid of the fact that he's marrying Abby's daughter." He glanced across the waiting room at his in-laws.

"Hey! I resent that!" Abby snapped.

"I'm going to have to agree with Fitz. Having Abby as an in-law must suck." David quipped.

The redhead turned on her husband, "You do know you _asked_ me to marry you. Willingly. No one forced your hand or anything."

David pointed at Olivia, "She sort of did. She was the one who approached me in the bar to"

"To give you an in to the woman you'd been ogling." Olivia reminded him, "Don't blame me for your bad taste."

Abby's mouth dropped open, "I'm sitting right here!" She protested.

"What did we miss? Did we miss anything?" The door to the waiting room opened and the rest of their friends nearly fell through the doorway.

"The baby's not here yet, Mom, right?" Karen asked, her hand firmly clasped in Javi's a diamond ring glittering on it, indicating the wedding that would be happening in just a week's time.

Olivia stopped her pacing to hug her only daughter, "No, Kare, no baby yet. If she's anything like you four were," she eyed her three younger children, "she'll be stubborn and won't want to join us here in the world."

"Mom!" Evan protested, "That's just something none of us needs to hear."

Fitz chuckled and picked his paper up again, "It's the truth. Your mother nearly broke my hand with you." He pointed to his youngest son and Evan just scowled at his father.

Mellie took a seat on one of the waiting room chairs, "Well then, it looks like we have quite the wait ahead of us." She murmured with a smile, "Time to settle in."

SCANDAL

"The first grandbaby." Alexandra cooed holding Alice Grant close to her chest, staring into the blue eyes that everyone hoped would remain the Grant blue. "She's so precious." She glanced over at her son, "I want one." She ordered.

"Not happening any time soon." He told her, holding up his hands. Alexandra glared at him in response.

Jerry pressed a kiss to Anna's brow, "She's perfect." He murmured.

Anna nodded in agreement, "She really is. I wish Uncle Cy and Nana could be here to meet her." Silence settled over the room at that.

"They would both love her very much. Uncle Cy was a big softy when it came to you kids, and Eleanor just adored you all." Olivia let go of Fitz's hand and moved off to the side, "In fact," she picked up a box off the floor, "we haven't told you guys this, but Nana wanted to be here for this." She pulled a blanket out of of the box. "She made a bunch of these for the grandbabies." She handed it to Jer, "This is for Alice."

Jerry and Anna both stared at the blanket in awe, "She," Jer swallowed thickly, "wow."

"And that's not all," Fitz leaned over the box, "this is from Uncle Cy." He pulled out a stuffed elephant in an American flag sweater. Each of the kids had been given one when they were born. Cyrus had stocked up on them for the grandkids before he died. "For Alice."

"It's like they're not even gone." Quinn murmured.

"They'll always be with us." Olivia agreed, "As if either of them would have it any other way."

SCANDAL

XOXO

MAS


End file.
